Two years after the announcement that a spectacular, permanent tribute to the 49 killed in the 2016 Pulse shooting would be built in Osceola County, the latest changes to the project have led to blowback from both victims’ families and wildlife advocates.
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The memorial will now be smaller and built in an entirely new place — and still has no established timeline. But now some family members of survivors say they weren’t informed or invited to the unveiling of the new project, while some local residents worry the tribute will disturb the wildlife on the land where its built.
The original plan for the memorial was for a 49-foot sculpture of moving rainbow-colored glass wings, each engraved with the name of a victim, surrounded by a heart-shaped garden featuring smaller sculptures with the photos of each victim’s family.
The project was set for Brownie Wise Park in Kissimmee, a serene 25-acre area purchased and conserved by the county for over a decade and popular for its walking trails. The groundbreaking was promised quickly in 2025, just one year after Orlando had bought the nightclub property itself amid its own controversy that a memorial had not yet been built there.
Earlier this month, however, the county and its partners unveiled a slightly smaller tribute at a new location along Macy Island Road in the Twin Oaks Conversation Area, a 300-plus acre park with boardwalks that lead to the waters of Lake Tohopekaliga, picnic tables and hiking trails.
“The original tribute was designed for a different location and envisioned as one artwork within a larger park,” said Orlando-based artist Jefrë, who is behind the design at the press conference. “When the site changed, we were given an opportunity to rethink the project and create something even more meaningful.”
Osceola has strong ties to Pulse — over 20% of the 49 killed called the county home, according a county press release during the initial design unveiling in 2024.
“We had so many families that lived, work, played here,” said Osceola County commissioner Cheryl Grieb, who is leading the effort. “It just seemed appropriate to have some kind of tribute, not to take away from the memorial. This is a totally different kind of space.”
Jefrë said the sculpture still rises 49 feet, reaching a height similar to the trees that will surround it, and includes 49 seating elements that surround the project. He is designing the project for free, he said.
“Rather than being one feature within a larger park, it now has a dedicated home of its own,” Jefrë said at a press conference last week unveiling the new design. “The design evolved from 49 individual sculpture elements into seven monumental wings inspired by the seven colors of the rainbow.”
While the underlying land will ultimately transfer to Osceola County as new green space, outside of Grieb the county itself is not involved in the designing or building the memorial, said county spokesperson Tyler Winik in an email. She the LGBT+ Center Orlando are managing it directly, Winik added.
Grieb said the project will cost just $250,000 as much of the design and other work is being done pro bono. The new land for the tribute was donated by developer DR Horton and will become a county park, but there is no timeline for when it will be finished.
The main reason for the new location, she said, was to offer families more privacy.
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“These are specific families that came to me, so it is not the entire 49 families,” Grieb said. “We had a smaller gathering, and it’s been a smaller group, and at the meeting that we had we did talk about the new location.”
But Christine Leinonen, who lost her son, Christopher Leinonen, in the nightclub shooting, said she was not invited to the unveiling or updated on the new location. Leinonen, who lives in Polk County, said the memorial in Osceola would have been a “beautiful” tribute that she would visit often because it’s slightly closer to her home, although she is still advocating for a memorial in Orlando.
“I mean, we were insulted,” Leinonen said about not being invited. “This is supposed to be for our kids and we’re supposed to have a voice for how our kids are memorialized.”
Brenda Campos Marquez, who lost her niece Brenda Lee Marquez McCool in the shooting, told Spectrum News 13 she was not informed of the project despite asking for updates through emails that have gone unanswered.
“We have waited, and we have fought for this,” Campos Marquez said. “That’s all we want. We want the place where we can go and spend time and be with them. Just a place that they can, I don’t know, somewhere we can go and just sit and talk.”
In addition, many residents have also taken to social media to object to the new location within a conservation area.
“Now they intend to erect this monument in a different conservation area off Macie Island Road which will disturb the wildlife in that area,” said one county resident in a Facebook post. “This is a beautiful location but never intended for a monument.”
Another posted to the same Facebook thread raising concern over the birds that call Twin Oaks Conservation Area home.
“Should have never been placed there, It’s supposed to be a dark sky area due to wildlife/ birds in the area,” one user posted.
Leinonen said she was also concerned about the impact to nature.
“I think there should have been a study done,” Leinonen said. “If this is going to hurt birds or wildlife, my son would never want a memorial that would hurt the environment.”
Grieb, though, said she believes the location will be beneficial for families who have had so much heartache after Pulse.
“It’ll be a place for families to come and convene with their loved ones,” Grieb said.
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