HAMMOND – A 24,000-square-foot mansion isn't what you'd expect to find along a rural road between Ponchatoula and Hammond, but it's exactly what you'll see along Happywoods Road in Tangipahoa Parish.

And, it's where you'll soon find a church retreat, according to the local newspaper.

The mansion has been on the market since March 2016. It sold recently, The Daily Star reported, for $1.525 million. The owner was originally asking $1.925 million.

A church from the New Orleans area will use the space as a retreat.

Originally planned as the home for an area class action attorney, the project was never finished. Exterior walls are complete but inside, the eleven bedrooms and nine bathrooms feature unfinished walls and few finished floors.

“Originally conceived as a grand personal residence...this sprawling unfinished estate could be transformed into an exclusive wedding venue, a state of the art assisted living facility, or one of many other commercial possibilities,” real estate agents wrote in a sales pitch posted online.

The house is four stories and sits on 23 acres.  It is roughly 12,000-square-feet smaller than the lavish home on Highland Road in Baton Rouge known as the Pennington Mansion (Sold for nearly $6,000,000 last year).  

The name of the church was not revealed.  

Click HERE to see more pictures from the agent. 

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