Greg Zanis sets up 49 memorial crosses on June 16 in remembrance of the victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla., four days after a shooter killed 49 people inside the nightclub.. Club owner Barabara Poma announced Monday she will not sell the property to the city of Orlando. Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI. |
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ORLANDO, Fla., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The owner of the Pulse nightclub, where 49 people died in a shooting in June, said Monday she would not sell the property to the city of Orlando, Fla.
The city intended to purchase the property, a pillar of the local gay community prior to the incident, for the negotiated price of $2.25 million in order to build a memorial on the site, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer's office recently announced. A city council vote in November was postponed after it emerged the city's offer was higher than the $1.65 million appraisal value of the 4,500 square-foot building on a one-third acre site. The plan, if the city purchased the site, involved leaving the building intact for at least one year as community input was sought to establish an appropriate memorial.
Omar Mateen, 29, killed 49 people and injured 53 others in a shooting rampage inside the club on June 12. After a three-hour standoff, a police officer shot and killed Mateen.
A statement Monday from attorney Gus Benitez, spokesman for property owner Barbara Poma, announced the sale will not go through.
"I have decided not to sell the Pulse property. Pulse means so very much to my family and to our community, and I can't just walk away. I feel a personal obligation to ensure that a permanent space at Pulse be created so that all generations to come will remember those affected by, and taken on, June 12th. I intend to create a space for everyone, a sanctuary of hope, and a welcoming area to remember all those affected by the tragedy. I plan to do that directly with the involvement of the communities impacted by this tragedy, the families of the victims and any private or public sector individuals or organizations who wish to assist. We must do this together as a community."
Heather Fagan of the mayor's office acknowledged Poma's action, saying in a statement, "We respect their decision and are hopeful the Pulse site continues to be a place of hope and healing that honors the victims."
Poma opened the nightclub in 2004, naming it Pulse as a tribute to her brother John, an AIDS victim who died in 1991.
