Orlando approves $12.62 million Pulse memorial contract

Orlando City Council unanimously approved an updated construction agreement for the permanent Pulse memorial on October 12, setting a guaranteed maximum price of $12,624,837. The vote advances the project toward construction, but work cannot begin until required permits are in place.

The action updates an existing design-build arrangement with Gomez Construction Company, which the city entered in 2025. It is not the city’s first agreement with the company. The new price is $624,837 higher than the project’s previously reported $12 million estimate.

Price, community support and design changes

The City of Orlando announced $1.75 million in additional support from six community partners. District 4 Commissioner Patty Sheehan told Spectrum News the contract amendment was needed to account for additional contributions from major donors.

Central Florida Public Media’s account of the bid notes described 19 design changes. Examples included changing the visitor-center mosaic to stucco and the survivor-wall granite to tile, removing exterior benches, switching copper plumbing to PVC, and reducing plant sizes by about 50%.

The approved agreement is for construction of the permanent memorial. The city’s support announcement and the contract price are separate figures; the city’s announcement did not state that the $1.75 million directly reduces the guaranteed maximum price.

Site and construction schedule

The memorial is planned for the 0.9-acre former Pulse nightclub site on South Orange Avenue in Orlando. It will honor the 49 people killed in the June 12, 2016, attack and is intended as a place of remembrance for survivors, families and the community.

The schedule attached to the council agenda lists November 25, 2026, as the start of on-site work and completion by the end of 2027. That start date is a schedule entry, not a confirmed date: Spectrum News reported that final permits were still needed and officials had not announced a firm start date.

The city’s memorial timeline describes construction as beginning in fall 2026 and completion in the second half of 2027. The agenda schedule’s November start and end-of-year completion targets are more specific, but construction remains contingent on permits.