A Korean investment group has purchased a mixed-use property in downtown Donaldsonville through a bankruptcy-driven sale, highlighting growing investor interest tied to industrial expansion in Ascension Parish. Delaware-registered company SSK LA LLC purchased the roughly 25,200-square-foot property at 416-420 Mississippi St. from David and Lydia Hambrick for $2.253 million, according to broker Lindsay Redhead of Elifin. Redhead and Peter Laville of Elifin brokered the deal for the buyer. John Hwang was listed as a managing member of SSK LA LLC, according to sales documents filed with the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court. Business filings list an address in Duluth, Georgia, as the principal business office of SSK LA. The purchased property includes multiple income-producing components across two buildings: The Inn on the River, a 16-room hotel; Gaston’s BBQ Beer restaurant; The Columns on the River event venue; and four one-bedroom apartments.  “This was a complex transaction that required persistence and constant coordination from start to finish,” Redhead said in a statement. The deal was shaped by a bankruptcy process that required court approval, ultimately closing 64 days after the contract was awarded.  While the site is already operational, the new ownership group plans targeted upgrades—particularly to kitchen operations—and intends to use the property to support workforce housing tied to the region’s industrial growth. The investment aligns with a broader wave of activity in Ascension Parish following announcements such as the proposed $5.8 billion Hyundai Steel facility and other large-scale industrial projects. Though not directly affiliated with Hyundai, the buyers are positioning the property as an ancillary service to meet anticipated demand from incoming workers.  Redhead says opportunities for similar acquisitions in the area are becoming increasingly scarce as investors move quickly to secure assets. “As soon as news broke about Hyundai, all these investors were coming in and approaching these owners individually,” she says. “Pretty much anything that has been able to be converted, or things like grocery stores or anything that could have been converted or had that potential, has pretty much been bought already.” The transaction underscores how smaller, income-producing properties in river parishes are being repositioned to support workforce needs as industrial investment accelerates across the Capital Region. ...read more read less