A landmark hotel in Mississippi’s capital has been purchased by the state of Mississippi, the Mississippi Business Journal reports.

The historic Sun-n-Sand motor hotel has a long history including its being a place state lawmakers gathered to hammer out details of bills outside the public scrutiny found at the Mississippi Capitol. It was built in 1960.

The newspaper reports the building has been vacant since 2001 and will be razed to create parking spaces.

The building is a Mississippi Landmark and remains on the 10 Most Endangered Places in Mississippi list created by the Mississippi Heritage Trust (MHT).

MHT’s website detailed the importance of the building to legislators.

“In 2001, House Ways and Means Chairman Billy McCoy said, ‘We have passed many important measures because of our conversations after hours in the Sun-n-Sand,'” the website lists.