ORLANDO, Fla. — During Monday's Orlando City Council meeting, leaders approved a hotly contested proposal to pay $2 million to buy the Pulse nightclub property to build a memorial.

While the council voted unanimously in favor of the purchase, there was some debate about whether the city should have to pay for the property. 

Commissioner Jim Gray asserted that the site met the criteria for eminent domain and that the city should get the control of the land for a "fair and reasonable price."

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer appeared to agree with the idea, saying that he would have liked to have seen the property donated in the interest of creating a memorial. During the meeting, he said that he's supporting the purchase so that the survivors and the overall community can begin to move forward with the memorial.

The nightclub building still stands at 1912 Orange Ave., in downtown Orlando, but it’s surrounded by walls of an interim memorial featuring photos of the victims of the mass shooting at the site in 2016 and families. Forty-nine people died, and many others were injured in the shooting. 

The current co-owner of the property, Barbara Poma, headed up the onePULSE Foundation before ultimately stepping away from the nonprofit. Over the years, there was back and forth over whether the property would be donated, and other ideas to build a memorial at a separate location, though neither came to fruition.

It’s been a waiting game for families who have hoped to see a permanent memorial for years. Dyer said by purchasing the property, the city can finally put an end to the wait.

“What I am sure of is the first step, and that’s acquiring and having control over the property. After that, we want to step back and decide what is the best step to ensure that, in fact, we build that memorial in a way to honor the survivors, and the families and the victims. And to make sure we get input from that same group as to what the best way to go about that is,” said the Orlando mayor.

However, some community activists said they don’t want to see the property owners profit from the purchase. Others said they are worried that the city will listen to input from only a small number of family members when it comes to memorial plans.

“My hope is that the 49 families run the memorial,” said Zachary Blair, president of VictimsFirst. “They have all the say and control on how it goes up, and I have no faith the city is going to do that because already they’re silencing their voices.”

On June 12, 2016, gunman Omar Mateen killed 49 people in a terror attack at the nightclub that left dozens injured.

Spectrum News has learned that the money, the $2 million purchase price and about $50,000 in closing costs, will come from the current year's budget.