ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is sharing his thoughts on the city’s proposal to purchase the Pulse nightclub property.
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The Orlando City Council will vote on it next week.
If the deal goes through, Dyer’s office said the site will be used for a memorial to those killed in the Pulse nightclub shooting.
Dyer said there’s not yet much of a plan beyond purchasing the property.
Read: City of Orlando to buy Pulse nightclub site for future memorial
Once that sale happens, he said the city will step back to decide what is the best approach to honor the survivors and the victims’ families.
“We want to step back and decide what is the best approach to ensure that, in fact, we build that memorial in a way to honor the survivors and the families of the victims,” he said. "
Dyer said it became clear over the last several months that the Pomas, who own the nightclub, and the onePulse Foundation were not going to be able to come to an agreement on the future of the property.
He said he felt like it was necessary for the city to step in.
Watch: PULSE survivors question city’s decision to buy nightclub property
Dyer said talks have been sporadic over the last month but really solidified in the last two weeks or so.
Now the city is looking at purchasing the property for $2 million -- not far off from what the city appraised it for -- and when that happens, the memorial will be on that site, he said.
“We’ve had a lot of family members and others who have made it very clear that the most appropriate place to honor the victims is on that site,” Dyer said.
He also voiced his frustration that no plans were complete seven years after the massacre.
Watch: ‘Our hearts remain broken’: Community reflects on 7 years since Pulse tragedy
Dyer said there have been no final decisions made on whether the Pulse nightclub building will be demolished.
“The design that was originally contemplated by the onePulse Foundation has the building remaining there changed in some ways,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s the approach that we’ll take.”
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