Abandoned apartment building comes down in Jackson
JACKSON, Tenn. — A neighborhood eyesore is no longer an issue.
“It has been a work in progress during that time, but we are so relieved, which is the whole reason I am out here watching it happen,” said Bobby Smith, who lives nearby.
An abandoned apartment building on the corner of Cedar and West King Street was torn down Tuesday.
Greg Rowland, with the City of Jackson, says the building could have become a danger to the community in the future.
“The property became abandoned with no interest in fixing it up. So when they sit like this, abandoned and empty, they become dangerous. They are blighted, and it is time for it to come down,” Rowland said.
Smith says he has lived next to the building for 12 years, and says he was more than ready to watch it come down.
“I had kind of gotten a little cynical. When I heard it was going to be coming down, I had gotten to the point where I would believe it when I saw it. I got the word that not only was it going to happen, there was a date and there was a time,” Smith said.
Roberta Ogborn says she has mixed feelings on watching the building crumble.
“It is a good thing it is happening, but it is also sad. It erases some kind of history or some sort,” Ogborn said.
Councilman Johnny Dodd, with District 2, says this project was a long time coming.
He says he was glad to work with the community to make it happen.
“If you work together in a collaboration with people in the community, it can happen. We are glad it is finally coming down, and I think the community is probably glad it is coming down,” Dodd said.
Jackson officials say plans have not been set for the plot of land at this time.
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