Forty-nine people were killed June 12, 2016, when Omar Mateen gunned down Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Fifty, if you include the shooter taking his own life. Now, the city has reached a deal with the club to buy the since-closed venue, and will turn it in a memorial to honor those lost and loved.
Orlando and Pulse agreed on the price of $2.25 million, according to Thump. The decision will be revealed next week when the Orlando City Council meets to approve or deny the idea.
Mayor Buddy Dyer told the Orlando Sentinel the ultimate goal is to “create something to honor the memory of the victims that are deceased [and] those that were injured, and a testament to the resilience of our community.”
Dyer said in a Twitter video Pulse will be left alone for about a year, year and six months, to allow people more time to mourn before initiating any change. No specific plans for the memorial have been created yet, but Dyer said he wants to include the city’s ideas in the process.
Partial funding for the memorial will come from OnePulse Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation founded by Pulse co-owner Barbara Pomo. The foundation will serve the purposes of “conceiving, funding and aiding in the construction of a permanent memorial on the existing Pulse site.”
Watch and listen to Dyer’s message below. #OrlandoUnited.
It’s important that our community is a part of determining the future of the Pulse site, which has significance to us all.#OrlandoUnited pic.twitter.com/exgVwSIegi
— Mayor Buddy Dyer (@orlandomayor) November 8, 2016
