Construction fencing is expected to be placed around the vicinity of the former Pulse nightclub property south of downtown Orlando this week, as the city moves forward with creating a permanent memorial at the mass shooting site.
Fencing will be installed around the property “on or near” Monday, Feb. 2, according to an update from the city. The Pulse nightclub building itself is slated for demolition in mid-March.
A permanent memorial, commemorating the victims and survivors of the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, has been in the works for years. Forty-nine people were killed in the June 12, 2016, massacre, while dozens more were wounded in what was reported as the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history at the time it occurred.
“We know the temporary memorial has been a place of reflection and remembrance for many,” an update from the city reads. “Once the fencing is in place, the temporary memorial will no longer be accessible, however, there will be a small area where you can leave perishable items, like flowers, during construction.”
The city of Orlando took over the project of building a permanent Pulse memorial after the nonprofit OnePulse Foundation — established by one of the former bar owners, Barbara Poma, after the shooting — failed to deliver on its promise of building one itself.
The nonprofit, scrutinized for gifting its executives six-figure salaries, dissolved in disgrace in late 2023 after collecting millions of dollars in private and public donations, yet failing to break ground on its ambitious (to put it generously) $100 million memorial concept.
The city, meanwhile, unveiled tentative design concepts for its own permanent memorial, in Feb. 2025, after seeking feedback from a committee of Pulse survivors, family members of victims, and others affected in the community.
The memorial, expected to cost roughly $12 million, includes a rainbow reflective pool, a visitor’s pavilion, and a survivors wall among other concepts. The Orange County government has agreed to chip in $5 million over the next couple of years to help cover the cost.
Through a request for proposal (RFP) process, the city chose Winter Park-based design firm Gomez Construction Co. to finalize designs and construct the memorial last July, and began removing artifacts, such as posters, from the former nightclub this past December. The inside of the club — still featuring bullet holes through its walls — has been closed to the public since the 2016 shooting, with the exception of tours exclusively offered to survivors, family members of victims, and the media last June.
The permanent memorial from the city is expected to be completed by the second half of 2027. Construction is expected to break ground this summer, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the massacre.
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