Pulse during the onePulse Foundation’s 6th CommUnity Rainbow Run. (Photo by Jeremy Williams)
UPDATE: Orlando’s city commissioners voted unanimously Oct. 23 to purchase the Pulse nightclub property for $2 million making way for a permanent memorial to be built at the location by the City of Orlando.
The council voted after hearing from several members of the community and from the city councilmembers themselves. The speeches became emotional, especially from Commissioner Patty Sheehan who spoke about being with the grieving families in the moments after the 2016 Pulse tragedy.
Details of what the memorial will look like, and what will and will not be included, have not been determined yet. The city plans to meet with families of the victims to discuss what the memorial will be.
Previous story of the city’s announcement to purchase the space is below.
ORLANDO | The City of Orlando is looking to purchase the Pulse property from current owners Barbara and Rosario Poma, and their business partner Michael Panaggio, more than five months after talks between the Pomas and the onePULSE Foundation ceased and it was announced that the National Pulse Memorial would no longer be built at that site.
Sources have confirmed to Watermark that a deal was made with the city and is expected to be approved by the Orlando City Council Oct. 23. Once approved the sale should be finalized by Oct. 27. It has been said that the city will pay $2 million for the property.
“We recently met with some families of the victims, and survivors of the Pulse tragedy, who shared their desire for a permanent memorial at the Pulse site,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer wrote on his social media accounts. “To expedite the creation of a lasting memorial to honor the 49 angels, the City of Orlando is pursuing purchasing the site.”
Dyer released a statement Oct. 18 sharing some of the details on the future of the Pulse Memorial.
“Creating a memorial to honor the victims has been a challenging endeavor and previous plans were for the memorial to be built somewhere besides the actual Pulse site,” Dyer stated. “We recently had the opportunity to meet with and listen to some of the families of the victims and survivors. They expressed their strong desire for a lasting memorial to be located at the Pulse site. The hurt and pain they shared – now more than seven years after the tragedy – only solidified our belief that there should be a permanent memorial on the Pulse site.
“Since the City of Orlando has not been involved in the effort to build a memorial, our plan is to first acquire the land and then determine the next steps,” he continued. “We are committed to taking a thoughtful, collaborative approach to understand the history of the effort to create a memorial up to this point. The City of Orlando will then work with the victims’ families and survivors to ensure there is a memorial at the Pulse site that honors the lives of those taken and all of those impacted, and pays tribute to the resiliency of Orlando.”
“We are thankful to the City of Orlando for ensuring that the National Pulse Memorial will be located at the Pulse nightclub site, which was always the hope of families of the 49 victims and the Pulse-impacted community,” onePULSE Foundation’s executive director Deborah Bowie said in a statement. “We look forward to being a part of the discussion with the City of Orlando as this moves forward.”
In May, onePULSE released a statement saying they are “disappointed to report that after months of negotiation an agreement could not be reached with Barbara Poma (the Founder of onePULSE Foundation), her husband, Rosario Poma, and their business partner, Michael Panaggio, for the full donation of the Pulse nightclub property. The Foundation had previously planned to build a permanent national memorial at the site to commemorate the 49 lives taken, survivors, first responders, and all those impacted by the June 12, 2016, tragedy.”
Poma had stepped down from her position at onePULSE earlier this year with the foundation saying that it was part of a “planned leadership transition” that began in 2021.
After onePULSE’s statement in May, Barbara Poma released a statement saying “Earlier this year we informed the Foundation, both verbally and in writing, that we made the decision to donate our share of the property. However, our partner, who owns the remaining parcel, chose not to donate his share. We have no control over his business decisions. As a result, we were unable to satisfy the Foundation’s requirement for the full donation of the property.”
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is obtained.
