The 10-year anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High tragedy could be commemorated with a new permanent monument to remember the 17 who died.
Read more Florida death row inmate seeks stay of execution seeking DNA evidence in 1996 crime
The project to build the monument is now in the engineering phase, with an expected completion date of February 2028. It will honor the 14 students and three staff members who were killed at the Parkland school on Feb. 14, 2018.
East Coast Builders of Florida is completing the engineering drawings for the memorial as an in-kind donation to the Parkland 17 Foundation, the nonprofit group that is organizing and raising money for the project.
“The completion of the engineering plans is a major milestone for us as we move forward to erecting this Memorial,” said Michael Moser, a retired Coral Springs deputy fire chief who chairs The Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation. “What this means is that we need the community and businesses to find it in their hearts to continue supporting these families and helping our community heal by making a donation to build the Memorial.”
While there is already a monument and reflection area on the school campus, that one is not open to the public. This public monument will be located within a 150-acre preserve at the former Heron Bay Golf Club. The site borders Parkland and Coral Springs, an intentional location designed “to unite the two affected communities,” Moser said.
While the tragedy has been most associated with Parkland, since that’s the site of the school, some of those killed and injured lived in neighboring Coral Springs.
“It is a very peaceful and serene site. There’s no traffic noise,” Moser said. “There’s just sounds of nature out there. The goal in choosing that site was to be able to have the families, most importantly, but other loved ones and the public be able to go to a peaceful area where they can reflect on those that were lost, and that site is perfect.”
The general design is circular, held up by 17 columns, and there will be 17 individual plaques to honor each victim, he said.
The 17 who died were Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque Anguiano Jr., Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup and Peter Wang.
Read more Editorial: Beyond scandal, big questions about Hope Florida
“There will be various subtle designs inside, words of encouragement, things of that nature that will obviously bring the individuals’ stories to light, while at the same time honoring them all together since they all share that tragic date together,” Moser said.
Gina Montalto was 14. Her father, Tony Montalto, serves on the foundation as the liaison to the victims’ families. He said the memorial will help visitors learn more about those who died.
“The tragedy is the people that we lost, and they should be remembered as the vibrant parts of not just our families but in the community,” he said. “The students all had bright futures. The staff members that were taken were all coaches. They gave of themselves.”
North Springs Improvement District also is establishing a nature preserve within the site that will surround the memorial. It will include a welcome center, art installations and walking paths.
Moser wouldn’t give a specific figure for how much the monument costs, saying construction and permitting costs “change every single day.” He said estimates ranged from $5 million to $15 million. The state allocated $1 million for the memorial in 2018 and approved the use of $1.6 million in unused money from a $25 million allocation to replace a building where the shooting happened.
But most of the money will need to come from fundraising, Moser said.
The memorial was first discussed shortly after the tragedy in 2018. While a decade may seem like a long time for the memorial to come to fruition, that’s actually standard, Montalto said.
He said the foundation’s research found that it took about 10 years to build permanent memorials for Columbine High School in Colorado, Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut and the World Trade Center in New York City.
Read more Best 3D printer filament