BATON ROUGE — Mayor-President Sid Edwards ordered the demolition of the abandoned OYO Hotel as part of his ongoing campaign against blight in the city-parish.

The Wednesday announcement came only hours after the second story of the Mead Road property caught fire around 6:30 a.m.

"Today, with the start of the demolition of this large, blighted property, we are sending a clear and visible message that blight in East Baton Rouge Parish and the City of Baton Rouge will not be tolerated," Edwards said, who directed that heavy equipment operators working with the city-parish start demolishing the property.

The building has sat abandoned for at least two years and has become a hot spot for squatters and criminal activity, Edwards said. He added that, as the site was being readied for demolition on Tuesday, staff from the Office of Homelessness Prevention came across about 15 people living within the blighted hotel. Edwards' office is in the process of connecting those individuals with mental health, addiction recovery and other services, the mayor said. 

Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said that, since January 2024, his department has responded to 30 incidents at the site, including thefts, drug overdoses, sexual offenses, assaults and burglaries. He hopes the hotel’s demolition will help improve public safety in the area.

Edwards added that the OYO Hotel is at the top of a list of 10 blighted or abandoned commercial properties being prioritized for actions that include property liens, higher fines, condemnation and possible demolition.

The list also includes the following properties: 

3575 Government Street
1327 Lori Burgess Avenue
958 Harding Boulevard
2355 Tecumseh Street — Former Purina Plant
854 N Donmoor Ave
1429 Thomas Delpit Drive
10225 Florida Boulevard
2450 Plank Road
1885 Wooddale Boulevard

Edwards said his blight initiative goes beyond condemnation and demolition, saying his administration is exploring opportunities for redevelopment, rehabilitation, private investment and reuse of properties whenever possible.

“Our goal is not simply to tear buildings down. Our goal is to transform these commercial properties and put them back into productive use,” Edwards said.

Officials said the hotel consists of several large buildings, saying demolition could take a few weeks to finish.