Station Fire Property Owner Donates Land for Memorial

West Warwick, R.I. property owner Ray Villanova has agreed to donate the site of The Station nightclub for use as a permanent memorial to the 100 people killed in the February 2003 blaze during a Great White concert, according to the Associated Press.

Among the victims were Attleboro residents Richard Cabral (37), Kevin J. Dunn (37) and Walter Rich (40) as well as Seekonk residents Beth Mosczynski (33), Millbury Katherine O'Donnell (26) and Joseph Rossi (35), according to Boston.com.

Villanova's lawyer, Dan McKiernan filed papers at West Warwick Town Hall on Friday morning transferring the land to the Station Fire Memorial Foundation.

The decision brings closure to a long-standing effort to secure the site of the tragedy by families of those killed.

The one condition of the transfer is that a suitable memorial be maintained at the site in perpetuity.

Despite Villanova's claims that he always intended the land be used as a memorial, delays have caused strife for many of the victims' families. Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and House Speaker Gordon Fox said last week that they were looking into the legalities of seizing the land by eminent domain.