(Photo Credits: Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
In a unanimous decision on Monday, Orlando city commissioners voted to purchase the Pulse Nightclub property for $2 million. This move comes as part of the city’s plans to create a lasting memorial for the victims of the tragic Orlando nightclub shooting in 2016.
Orlando City Mayor Buddy Dyer has emphasized that this purchase is a crucial step in ensuring the establishment of a permanent memorial at the very location where the heart-breaking massacre occurred. He said thru an official statement released on X/Twitter:
“City Council approval to purchase the Pulse site is the first step to ensure a permanent memorial. While there may never be consensus among those impacted by the tragedy, input from victims’ families and survivors will be key to the process moving forward.”
A few days ago, the mayor explained the city will purchase the site to “expedite the creation of a lasting memorial to honour the 49 angels.” He added:
In the interest of solving challenges in a way that brings our community together in love, acceptance and partnership, which is the enduring legacy of Pulse, we have decided to purchase the land from its current owners.
We believe that this is the best and most appropriate way to expedite the creation of a proper memorial for the Pulse tragedy.
The $2 million price tag for the property is actually slightly lower than the offer made by the City of Orlando to the nightclub’s owners shortly after the tragic event that transpired seven years ago.
The decision to purchase the Pulse property arises from the city’s intervention, as the onePULSE Foundation had been in negotiations with the owners for a substantial duration but was unable to reach a favorable agreement. The foundation had even considered the construction of a sizable museum on the site.
With the City Council’s approval of a $2 million budget for the purchase of the Pulse property, the next steps and plans for the location will be determined in due course.
In response to this development, survivors and families of the victims have expressed their thoughts. One particular individual, a mother whose daughter survived the attack while her cousin tragically lost their life, questions why the nightclub’s owners did not opt to donate the property for the intended memorial.
Mimi Marquez, a family member of Pulse victims, said: “It hasn’t been about the actual tragedy itself. It seems like so many people are pulling in different directions because there is so much money involved.”
In addition, Commissioner Patty Sheehan said, “This has been horrible. This day has been difficult but we will do the right thing by everyone.” Sheehan, who had to face accusations alongside other city leaders from those who believed that they concealed potential code violations at the Pulse Nightclub prior to June 12, 2016 tragedy, added, “I can tell you right now the only way we are going to be able to move forward is to get possession of the property so we can build a proper memorial, which is what I have heard from day one from these families.”
The Pulse tragedy, also known as the Orlando nightclub shooting, was a horrific mass shooting that took place on June 12, 2016, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, USA. The attack resulted in the deaths of 49 people and left dozens of others injured, making it one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history at the time. This tragic event had a profound impact not only on the LGBTQ+ community but also on both the local community and the nation as a whole.
For more information regarding this news, read here and here.
Publicity!
It is all about Money, too.
It is all about making “The Few” feel good about themselves.
It is not all about the Victims or their Families.
The Dead do not need a shrine to commemorate the killings.
It is all about “The Living”!
Surprising that it has taken so long and disposition of the site is far from decided.. Usually, locations of events such as this one are quickly leveled and turned into parks/memorials.
Remember, Hunter0500,
Orlando is where Disney is located.
There is a “Master Plan” in the works.
What will, ultimately, take place and be built, will be about “Melodrama & Sensationalism”.
It will not be about the “Loss-Of-Life” as that isn’t pretty or amusing.
Reality,
for most Americans, is
too brutal to be acknowledged or understood.
Hence,
“Revisionism” is employed and the “Brutality” is eroded and polished until what becomes the Reality
is
what “Disney” is all about.
This question begs to be asked:
Will “Pulse Nightclub” of Orlando, Florida become the “Stonewall” of New York City, New York?
no, pulse will be just another lone line of mass shootingings…nothing to see here…get your 2nd amendment rifle at the stand
If you mean will it spawn a movement as the Stonewall riots did, I doubt it. Any momentum that this atrocity might have generated has dissipated.
Barry:NJ:
I agree with you as the movement has already arrived.
I was commenting on the “Tourist Attraction” that might be prospered by both Orlando
Officials and the current owners of “Pulse Nightclub?
The millions offered for an ordinary piece of property and building is inane – unless,
what will be spent to purchase – will be made up as a “Tourist Attraction”?
According to the county tax rolls, the land and building have a market value of $412K. The assessed value is $215K. Since the building supposedly has a market value of only $7K, I don’t know how much stock to put into their appraisals. Still, it would seem that the $2 million is a substantial premium over the market value of the property. Of course, “value” is what someone will pay for something. Why the city is buying it isn’t clear to me, unless they see that as the only way to preserve the site. Maybe they’ll lease it out to… Read more »
Barry-NJ:
Next year is Election Year… .
It is all about Publicity!
Plans are being imagined to turn “Pulse Nightclub” into a Floridian “Stonewall”?
Remember, Orlando is the “Land Of Disney” and “Pulse Nightclub” is in
Orlando.
Hence…
“Pulse Nightclub” will become a possible “Tourist Site” catering to Liberals and Gays alike?
If those numbers are correct, then the owner is getting a premium for the property. Why the city of Orlando would agree to such a price seems silly to me but no one asked me to be involved with the negotiations.
This is not going to make Ron DeSantis happy LOLOL
Lmao, music to my ears, yes!
He’ll probably threaten to dissolve Orlando.
I’m sorry but I’m not a believer in memorials. They’re usually tourist attractions and I don’t know why I would want to visit a place where people were killed. A reminder? Why? I should also state I’m not a believer is “closure” – whatever that means. I’d either repurpose the property (open another nightclub); tear-down and build a mixed use space; build a few condos, etc., etc. Anything but a memorial.