ORLANDO, Fla. — The onePULSE Foundation announced it’s disappointment Tuesday that an agreement couldn’t be made to obtain the Pulse nightclub property to build a memorial on the site.

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Plans for the site of the nightclub where 49 people were killed have been controversial from the beginning. A group of victims and survivors have expressed concern around the “for profit” part of the foundation as well as Barbara Poma, the co-owner of Pulse and the person who founded the onePULSE Foundation after the mass shooting in 2016.

Video: Organization applauds decision to not have memorial located on Pulse property The onePULSE Foundation announced its disappointment Tuesday that an agreement couldn’t be made to obtain the Pulse nightclub property to build a memorial. (WFTV)

There was criticism for years about her leadership as executive director. She turned down an offer from the City of Orlando to purchase the property, leaving some survivors questioning whtehre the nonprofit was trying to cash in on the tragedy.

READ: Pulse national memorial won’t be located on nightclub property, foundation says

A spokesperson for Poma said she had no comment on Tuesday’s announcement.

Dr. Zachary Blair, co-founder of the Community Coalition Against the Pulse Museum said it’s good news.

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“(The museum) was always, in our eyes, to capitalize off the shooting,” Blair said. “We’ve been fighting against the museum and the onePULSE Foundation since 2019, when we first learned of the plans.”

Blair said the memorial should be more like a national park, not for profit.

“We think the building should be completely razed, torn down and not be profited off of,” Blair said.

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What will happen with Pulse itself is now an unknown, but onePULSE said it will have an announcement later this month about plans for the memorial on a new site.

“It’s good news the onePULSE Foundation is changing course,” Blair said, adding that having a volunteer board with survivors and family on it is “very critical.”

“The survivors and the victims families should be telling the story of Pulse,” Blair said.

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Pulse national memorial won’t be located on nightclub property, foundation says The future Pulse national memorial will not be located on the nightclub’s property, the onePULSE Foundation said Tuesday. (WFTV)

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