The 1.7-acre property for the proposed museum, located at 438 W. Kaley St., was purchased by OnePulse in 2019 for $3.5 million. The nonprofit used tourism development tax dollars collected by the county — that is, public money — awarded to them for the purchase. The county, however, regained ownership of the property when OnePulse dissolved itself in disgrace on Dec. 31, 2023, after failing to build the permanent memorial and museum that it had promised the community.
The nonprofit solicited millions of dollars in private and public donations over the years from the federal, state and local governments, as the nonprofit estimated a total cost of about $50 million for both. At least $680,000 of taxpayer funds the nonprofit received from the state went directly to executives' salaries.
Now, nearly 10 months after the nonprofit’s dissolution, the county has decided the property is “no longer needed for County purposes.” County commissioners voted to approve a resolution Tuesday to put the Kaley Street property up for sale for no less than its appraised value of $4.05 million.
Upon its purchase and conveyance, all proceeds of the sale will be returned to the county’s pot of TDT funds. These funds, also known as a hotel tax, are collected by the county as a 6 percent levy added to the cost of a hotel room or other short-term lodging.
The use of funds collected through this hotel tax are restricted by state law to projects related to tourism, such as the public financing of sports stadiums (which turn a profit for their billionaire owners), performing arts centers and convention centers. Lobbyists for the tourism industry have lobbied hard to keep it that way, but — with the political will to fight for it — local governments in Florida can also opt to spend these public funds on public safety and even affordable housing.
OnePulse’s planned Pulse Museum development, first announced five years ago, was controversial among many survivors and family members of the 49 people who died as a result of the 2016 Pulse shooting, most of whom were LGBTQI+ and people of color.
Critics of the museum proposal, including those directly affected by the tragedy, likened it to a money grab that would ultimately serve as a way for OnePulse executives to profit from survivors’ and families’ pain.
Pulse Families and Survivors for Justice, a grassroots group of survivors, family members, and allied community members that advocated against the Pulse museum concept, endorsed the county’s decision to sell the property intended for it. “@OrangeCoFL deserves its money back after being scammed by Barbara Poma and the onePULSE Foundation,” the group wrote in a post on X.
The group has repeatedly called for a financial audit of OnePulse, a third-party investigation into the Pulse nightclub’s former owners, and the development of a permanent memorial, open to the public, that truly honors the lives of shooting victims and clubgoers who survived.
Osceola County announced plans for its own Pulse tribute in Kissimmee earlier this year, while the city of Orlando has launched an advisory board to oversee the development of a memorial in Orlando. Members of the board meet monthly (although this month’s meeting) was postponed, due to incoming Hurricane Helene.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | or sign up for our RSS Feed
