NEW ORLEANS – Silver Creek Campground in Washington Parish has sold for $2.5 million to North Carolina-based Soder Capital after an unusual path to closing that followed a failed auction contract.
The 259-unit RV park in Mount Hermon was originally sold through an absolute auction on Nov. 20, but the winning bidder from New Orleans was unable to complete the purchase, according to seller Spencer Mann, president of Dirt Road Gourmet and owner of JSM Property & Development.
Mann said he released the buyer from the contract and shifted to direct outreach with investors already active in the outdoor hospitality sector.
“The winning bidder out of New Orleans was unable to perform on the purchase contract,” Mann said. “Rather than dragging it out, I released the auction firm and pivoted to direct outreach to groups that are actively acquiring these types of assets. It worked quickly.”
The Silver Creek Campground campground ultimately sold to Soder Capital, a private equity group based in Mooresville, North Carolina, that focuses on outdoor hospitality investments. The acquisition was financed by Spectra Lending, a Birmingham-based commercial lender specializing in bridge and special-situations loans.
Bridge Loan Supports Acquisition
Spectra structured a $1.6 million acquisition bridge loan with a 13-month term designed to give the buyer time to complete renovations and reopen the park.
“Most lenders look at day-one cash flow. We look at what the asset is becoming,” said Landon Hutchison, director of CRE origination at Spectra Lending. “By traditional underwriting standards it was a pass, but when you looked at the full picture, it was a clear business plan.”
At the time of the sale, the campground was temporarily closed while undergoing renovations and generating no income — a factor that typically deters traditional lenders. Hutchison said several fundamentals made the deal viable, including upgraded electrical infrastructure on most sites, limited competing supply in the rural submarket and an experienced management company prepared to operate the park.
The property includes 259 RV and campground units across roughly 72 acres and is located about an hour north of New Orleans and Baton Rouge near Interstate 55.
Silver Creek Campground Renovations and Property Improvements
Mann owned the property for less than a year but focused on repositioning the Silver Creek Campground park before the sale. During that time, improvements included cleaning and restoring the creeks, repainting structures, rebuilding bathhouse interiors and adding new communal amenities such as fire pits and recreation areas.
Prior to the sale, Mann also subdivided the original 128-acre property and sold approximately 55 wooded acres to a neighboring farmer.
Soder Capital is expected to reopen the campground as it begins operating the resort.
Private Equity Expands into Outdoor Hospitality
The transaction reflects a broader trend of institutional capital moving into the outdoor hospitality sector, where campgrounds historically operated as small family businesses but are increasingly being acquired and scaled by private investment groups.
“Campgrounds used to be almost entirely mom-and-pop operations,” Mann said. “Over the last few years, institutional capital has really started moving into the space. When we shifted from the auction format to direct outreach, the level of interest from experienced operators and investment groups was immediate.”
