Pulse building to be torn down as plans for new memorial move forward

ORLANDO | The Pulse nightclub building will be torn down as part of the future memorial design, the Pulse Memorial advisory committee said during its meeting Dec. 12.

During the meeting, the committee made its final decisions on what the Pulse Memorial design will be based on the three designs introduced at a previous meeting.

“For those who think this is closure, that this ends grief and ends the pain it doesn’t work that way. What it does do however is kind of put a dot at the end of the sentence that’s been open for a very long time,” said committee member Nancy Rosado during an interview with WFTV. “What is happening is a fitting tribute to people who went out one night to have a nice time and finally, finally being memorialized the way they should.”

According to design concepts shown at the meeting, the memorial will include a Survivor’s Wall, an Angel Ellipse, a Fountain Wall, a Reflection Pool and a Healing Garden, as well as an obelisk, a space for private gatherings and a visitors pavilion. While the building is being torn down, the committee added that portions of the original dancefloor may be included in the memorial’s water features.

The 18-member Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee was created by the City of Orlando and consists of families, survivors and community stakeholders. The committee was created to guide engagement towards the recommendation of a conceptual design for a permanent memorial to the Orlando City Council by the end of this year.

The total cost of the memorial has not been released yet but a budget of $7.5 million for design and construction has been allocated by the city. While an estimated date that the memorial will be completed is unknown, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer has stated that he wants the project to be completed before the end of his term.

The committee’s final meeting, which will feature the final rendering of the memorial intended to present to the city council, will be Feb. 4.

See the Pulse Memorial concept art, courtesy Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee, below.

You can review the slides from the committee’s meeting here. To keep up to date on all information on the city’s Pulse Memorial construction, visit PulseOrlando.org.