JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – One of the biggest eyesores in the City of Jackson has been removed. Hotel O, located along Interstate 55, is now an empty lot.

Jackson leaders said the city is still working to address other ongoing blight issues. They have about $1 million left in their current budget to address those issues, and they hope to receive additional funds.

Officials said they want to hold owners accountable for the conditions of their properties.

“We’re hoping to get additional money from federal and state government at some point in the near future, so we can do this on a faster pace. It took to like a year to get to this point on the Hotel O. We need to do it at a faster pace, and I think it will be seen as by the citizens as a, you know, constructive action to get Jackson turned around and headed in the right direction,” Jackson City Councilman Ashby Foote, Ward 1, said.

Foote said blight has become apart of the landscape of Jackson over the years, but the city is working to actively change that narrative.