ORLANDO, Fla. _ Barbara Poma, the owner of Pulse, said Monday that she does not plan to sell the nightclub to the city of Orlando.
Mayor Buddy Dyer's staff recently revealed that the city had negotiated a $2.25 million purchase price for the club, where 49 people were killed and dozens more were injured in a mass shooting June 12.
The city hoped to eventually build a permanent memorial on the land.
In a statement released by her attorney, Poma said she decided she "can't just walk away" from the club, which "means so very much to my family and to our community."
"I intend to create a space for everyone, a sanctuary of hope, and a welcoming area to remember all those affected by the tragedy," Poma said. "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, Dyer's deputy chief of staff, acknowledged Poma's decision in a statement.
"We understand that this was an incredibly difficult decision for the owners," the city's statement said. "We respect their decision and are hopeful the Pulse site continues to be a place of hope and healing that honors the victims."
Poma's decision comes nearly a month after Dyer's administration revealed its plans to buy the 4,500-square-foot building occupying a third of an acre at South Orange Avenue and West Esther Street.
The City Council was set for a vote on the purchase Nov. 14, but Dyer pushed it back after some commissioners balked at the proposed purchase price, which exceeded the club's appraised value.
City staff had appraised the property at $1.65 million, as it existed before the killings. Dyer described the higher price tag as the result of negotiations between Poma and the city.
The club, a pillar in the local gay community before the massacre, has become a place of mourning for visitors and locals alike. Patty Sheehan, the city's first gay commissioner, urged her colleagues to approve the purchase, offering to raise the price if that remained an issue.
Had the city bought the club, Dyer had proposed leaving it as-is for a time, possibly a year or more, while soliciting community input on what form a permanent memorial there should take.
In the city's statement, Dyer's administration stressed that "it is important for the community to have input into a memorial that honors the victims and pays tribute to the resiliency of Orlando."
"Staff will continue to research and understand how other communities have approached the memorial process," the statement continued. "As we better understand that process and after engaging with our Commissioners and community partners we will update the community on the next steps."
Poma opened the bar in 2004, naming it Pulse in honor of her brother John, who was afflicted by AIDS and died in 1991. It was a local landmark in the gay community, often the first bar a gay or lesbian young person would visit in Orlando.
Terry DeCarlo, the executive director of the GLBT Center of Central Florida, said he counseled Poma as she weighed her options, urging her to "go with what's in your heart."
"Barbara opened this club in memory of her brother," he said. "It holds such memories for her."
DeCarlo said Poma's choice was "not at all" a reflection of dissatisfaction with her negotiations with the city, but rather a difficult, personal decision to guide the club's future herself.
"What you're seeing here is truly coming from her heart and her personally on how she feels she needs to do what she has to do," he said. " ... I would not wish what this woman is going through on any person in the world."
DeCarlo said it's too soon to say what comes next for Pulse.
"It's so early," he said. "I'm sure, within the next few months, things will come out and (Poma), with input from others, people that were there and other organizations, will come up with a plan."
Poma didn't detail any specific plans for the site in her statement Monday, but said she felt a "personal obligation to ensure that a permanent space at Pulse be created so that all generations to come will remember" those affected by the tragedy.
"I hope the love and support we have seen through this time from around the world and here at home will continue as we join together to build a place to memorialize our Angels," she said.
