ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando City Council will vote on Oct. 12 to approve a $12,624,837 construction contract with Gomez Construction Company for the permanent Pulse Memorial.
The approval will officially move the project from the design phase into active construction.
The memorial will honor the 49 people killed in the June 12, 2016, nightclub shooting while providing a permanent space of remembrance for survivors, families and the community.
City officials announced $1.75 million in new financial support from six community partners to help fund the project.
This private backing adds to funding previously provided by Orange County and the State of Florida.
The city also shared a previously unannounced design feature for the site. A passage from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Sonnet to Orlando” will be displayed on the Survivor Wall in the memorial’s Survivor Common Area.
Miranda delivered the poem at the 2016 Tony Awards while accepting the award for Best Original Score for “Hamilton,” just hours after the tragedy.
The memorial design originated from concepts created by the Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee, an 18-member group that included survivors, victims’ families, LGBTQ+ community members and local stakeholders.
The committee met over seven months in late 2024 and early 2025 to develop the foundation for the memorial.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer commended the collaborative effort behind the project. “These commitments represent more than financial support for the Pulse Memorial,” Dyer said. “They reflect the extraordinary spirit of collaboration that emerged in Orlando following June 12, 2016 and the continued commitment of community partners to honoring the 49 angels, supporting survivors and families and carrying forward the spirit of #OrlandoUnited.”
Construction on the Pulse Memorial is scheduled to begin this fall. City officials expect construction of the memorial to be completed by the end of 2027.
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