ORLANDO, Fla. — The city of Orlando announced Tuesday that it has hired Dr. Larry Schooler, who was lead facilitator for the Virginia Beach 5-31 Memorial Committee and the San Leandro Steven Taylor Sanctity of Life Pavilion projects, to help implement a process to create a permanent Pulse memorial.

The plan is to build a memorial at the Pulse Nightclub site to honor the lives of the 49 people who died in a mass shooting on June 12, 2016. City officials have said they hope to select a conceptual design by the end of the year.

Orlando purchased the Pulse site in 2023 after the onePulse Foundation spent years raising funds and beginning an effort to build a memorial without success.

In an announcement Tuesday, the city said it brought in Schooler "to implement a thoughtful, inclusive and efficient process for engaging and communicating with the victims’ families, the survivors and the community in the creation of a permanent memorial."

To ensure the process meets the needs of the survivors, families of the victims and the community, Schooler's team will include fluent Spanish speakers, the city's announcement said.

Development of the project will take place in phases, including interviews with victims' families, survivors and other key stakeholders and small-group discussions, the city said. Victims’ families and survivors can visit pulseorlando.org/interestform to indicate their interest in providing input throughout this process.  

The interviews and discussions will lead to the creation of a working Memorial Advisory Committee with members representing the victims’ families, survivors and other stakeholders, the city's announcement said.

This is a developing story.