--- description: The owner of Pulse nightclub has decided that she no longer wants to sell the property to the city of Orlando title: The Owner of the Pulse Nightclub No Longer Wants to Sell It image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6de2c3f491f72a99/6988b0b2656a3f0cccbce0f5/pulse-nightclub.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Florida](/tag/florida/) ## Florida Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Owner of the Pulse Nightclub No Longer Wants to Sell It by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 5, 2016 7:04 PM CUT  A view of the Pulse nightclub main entrance in Orlando, Florida, on June 21, 2016. A view of the Pulse nightclub main entrance in Orlando, Florida, on June 21, 2016.Gerardo Mora—Getty Images by [Madeline Farber](/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 5, 2016 7:04 PM CUT The owner of Pulse nightclub says she won’t sell the property to the city of Orlando. In November, the city reached a deal with the club’s owner, [Barbara Poma](http://time.com/4432873/pulse-nightclub-memorial-orlando-shooting/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined"), to purchase the property for a reported [$2.25 million.](http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/pulse-orlando-nightclub-shooting/os-pulse-nightclub-orlando-update-20161107-story.html "undefined") The city planned to build a memorial on the land for the 49 people who were killed after a gunman named [Omar Mateen](http://time.com/4553844/orlando-shooter-omar-mateen-wife-noor-salman/ "undefined") opened fired in club in June 12\. The shooting [was the deadliest](http://time.com/4365325/orlando-shooting-pulse-nightclub-deadliest-history/?iid=sr-link10 "undefined") in modern U.S. history. But Poma has decided that she “can’t just walk away” from the gay nightclub, because it “means so very much to my family and to our community,” she said, according to a statement obtained by the [Orlando _Sentinel_](http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-pulse-nightclub-no-sale-orlando-20161205-story.html "undefined"). Instead, Poma reportedly plans to use the property as a “sanctuary of hope, and a welcoming area to remember all those affected by the tragedy,” she said. Her decision to back out of the deal was not because Poma was dissatisfied with her negotiations with the city, according to _Sentinel_, but rather a ” difficult, personal decision to guide the club’s future herself.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4590861/pulse-nightclub-owner-will-not-sell-club-to-orlando/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4590861/pulse-nightclub-owner-will-not-sell-club-to-orlando/"},"headline":"The Owner of the Pulse Nightclub No Longer Wants to Sell It","datePublished":"2016-12-05T19:04:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:08:42.446Z","description":"She plans to turn the property into a \"sanctuary of hope\"","url":"https://time.com/4590861/pulse-nightclub-owner-will-not-sell-club-to-orlando/","keywords":["Florida","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6de2c3f491f72a99/6988b0b2656a3f0cccbce0f5/pulse-nightclub.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Madeline Farber","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6de2c3f491f72a99/6988b0b2656a3f0cccbce0f5/pulse-nightclub.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Orlando Community Continues To Mourn Deadly Mass Shooting At Gay Club Pulse","caption":"Orlando Community Continues To Mourn Deadly Mass Shooting At Gay Club Pulse","creditText":"Gerardo Mora—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/florida/","name":"Florida"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4590861/pulse-nightclub-owner-will-not-sell-club-to-orlando/","name":"The Owner of the Pulse Nightclub No Longer Wants to Sell It"}}]}] ```