ORLANDO, Fla. (WESH/AP) -The fence outside Pulse Nightclub was once adorned with hundreds of messages and mementos but is now bare.

Removing the signs of support that have poured in since the June 2016 massacre is an emotional process, but one that Pulse owner Barbara Poma says is a way forward.

“I know it’s difficult to see the items coming down. It’s difficult for me to see it,” Poma said. “I know that it is a step in the right direction.”

Construction begins on a temporary memorial at the site Monday, which is why the Orange County Regional History Center conducted its final collection of artifacts.

“We learned how healing these types of rapid response collections can be, in families knowing that their son will be remembered, in people knowing that their individual tributes and their outpourings of grief will be preserved,” Pam Schwartz, chief curator at the Orange County Regional History Center, said.

The items are being gathered for the One Pulse Foundation as it plans for a permanent memorial and museum honoring the victims.

Meanwhile, the Pulse site will remain a place of remembrance for those who visit. Poma said the temporary memorial will provide areas to leave messages and include seating, shade and lighting to have a better space to honor the shooting victims.

“Instead of it having to look like a crime scene, it’s better that they come to a place that is peaceful and is reflective of what Pulse was, which is a beautiful place to come,” Poma said.

The club’s sign will be also improved and a new fence will be placed around the nightclub’s perimeter.

Work on the memorial is expected to be completed in April.

The Orlando nightclub was attacked by gunman Omar Mateen in June 2016. He pledged allegiance to the Islamic State during a three-hour standoff at the nightclub before he was killed in a shootout with police.STORIES OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON-