Donaldsonville’s commercial real estate market has cooled slightly after a surge of investment. Still, local broker Shane Guillot says interest—particularly from Korean investors tied to industrial growth in Ascension Parish—remains strong.
Guillot, an associate broker with Donaldsonville-based Guillot Properties, says activity has eased from the rapid pace seen over the past year but continues to generate new business opportunities throughout Donaldsonville and neighboring communities. “It has slowed a little bit, but we went through a really, really incredible boom here,” Guillot says. “We had some really early investors that were coming in.”
Guillot Properties, along with Ponnell Properties, is currently evaluating plans for a recently acquired 7,500-square-foot downtown building that GP Legacy Properties will own. The group is weighing three potential uses, including retail, office space, or a restaurant. “We’re hoping for three to six months, at best case,” Guillot says of the renovation timeline.
Commercial interest has been fueled in part by the opening of new businesses in downtown Donaldsonville. Hi Bob, which Guillot says was the first Korean-owned business to open in Donaldsonville, began operating about three months ago. Gangnam Grill is expected to open by the end of the year, while Lemon Tree Cafe is targeting a late July or early August opening.
In May, a Korean investment group purchased a mixed-use property in downtown Donaldsonville for $2.253 million. The purchased property included 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.
Guillot says interest in the former Capital One bank building temporarily slowed after permitting delays for the planned $5.8 billion Hyundai-POSCO Louisiana Steel mill in Ascension Parish, but believes momentum is returning.
“It slowed up when Hyundai hit the slight delay with their permitting process, but I understand that’s coming back around,” he says. “There’s just some fantastic business opportunities here in Donaldsonville.”
Guillot Properties currently has about 11 commercial listings in Donaldsonville. One of those properties, a historic building at 117 Railroad Ave. is expected to close within the next month to a Korean investor who plans to live upstairs while operating a business on the ground floor.
The broker says he has heard a nickname for the recent retail activity: “A good friend of mine refers to this as the Hyundai multiplier effect,” he says.
He notes that the investment activity extends beyond Donaldsonville into nearby White Castle, where Guillot says Korean investors have purchased the town’s grocery store and the former Family Dollar building, with plans to open a Korean restaurant. Another commercial acquisition is also in the works, along with the relocation of an existing Louisiana business. The city also broke ground in May on a $4.1 million broadband-enabled multipurpose training and learning facility that will focus on workforce development, health awareness, telehealth space and K-12 educational support initiatives.
