CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - Six years after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting left 17 people dead, a memorial honoring the victims is being planned, and six designs were chosen as finalists to decide what the memorial could look like.
The families of the victims, as well as the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation, will choose one of the six designs to build the memorial in the area of Coral Springs.
“Throughout the years, the numbness wears off, and for me it’s harder,” said Gena Hoyer, who lost her son Luke in the Feb. 14, 2018 massacre. “It’s the longevity of Luke being gone. It just gets bigger and bigger, and I miss him very, very much.”
As families mourn the deaths of their loved ones, six finalists, including three from Florida, were named in the National Design Competition for a memorial.
“It’ll be a place for us to reflect on the loss of Alyssa and the 16 others, and just to be there, to have a place, a special place, for us to go and heal,” said Lori Alhadeff.
Over 50 designs were submitted, but only six were chosen.
The six finalists will present their ideas to the families and the Parkland 17 Memorial Foundation board in March.
“We still have a little ways to go on it, so we’re going to be part of it, but we like what we’ve seen so far,” said Tom Hoyer.
“Any of the six that are chosen will be phenomenal,” said Tony Montalto.
Montalto, who lost his daughter Gina, is helping lead the memorial effort. He said the project should be finalized by the end of the year.
“If we can do it sooner, we’ll see. You know, a lot of it will depend on whether the design teams come in and gives us apple to apple to compare, or if they give us stuff that’s widely disparate. Then we’ll need some more time,” said Montalto.
Max Schachter, who lost his son Alex, said he’s excited for the memorial to be built.
“I’m excited for there to be a proper memorial to remember, not the tragedy, but the lives that we lost and the beautiful people that we lost,” he said.
Families of the victims hope the community can help in the fundraising of this memorial.
“Hopefully a lot of the community will help us raise funds so that we can do something that is really beautiful and long-lasting, and it will be a memory and that others can come to visit,” said Schachter.
The memorial is expected to be built off Coral Ridge Drive and Heron Bay Boulevard.
If you would like to donate to the memorial’s construction, click here.
To see the renderings of the six finalists, click here
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