It’s time to think big!
If you have ever dreamed of owning your own town, here’s a unique opportunity!
Almost the entire town of Campo, CA, has just hit the market for $6.6 million. The listing in San Diego County includes 28 buildings that offer a mixture of residential and commercial opportunities.
The 16-acre property offers a total of 95,000 square feet of interior space, which comes to $69 per square foot. Many of the residential units are said to have been updated, and modern amenities include new roofs and vinyl plank flooring.
Campo is an hour east of San Diego, and the property offers “the potential for high cash flow and significant upside through strategic development and honed operations,” the listing says.
“It is essentially the entire downtown portion of Campo that is available,” says Nicolas Hernandez of Top Gun CRE, whose agency created a marketing video of the property. Hernandez is co-listing the property with Joseph Barela.
“The only portion that is not owned by the seller is the fire station,” adds Hernandez. “It encompasses three separate parcels that include a post office, church, lumber supply shop, and cabinet shop. The rest of the property is mostly residential units that were former Army barracks.”
The majority of the property said to be owned by Las Vegas investor John Ray has been on the market since 2019, when it was listed for $5.5 million, according to the Orange County Register. About 100 people live in the town, considered to be an example of California’s “Old West.”
Campo was the home of the Buffalo Soldiers, an African American cavalry unit that secured the area on horseback during World War II. Camp Lockett, a former US Army base, is also said to have housed Italian prisoners of war.
“After World War II, the Army barracks were converted into apartments,” Hernandez notes. “The seller tried to get it sold in 2019, but they weren’t able to agree on a price. The seller is now making another marketing push and is more motivated.”
According to San Diego Real Estate Hunter, Campo’s history dates to the late 1800s when it served as a stop on the Arizona Railway. Eventually, it grew into an agricultural community and its history can still be seen today.
“Investors can choose to build to maximize the density of the existing land without altering the town’s current structures, or alternatively, consider a complete redevelopment to modernize and elevate Campo’s profile,” the listing states.
“It’s an opportunity for traditional real estate investors to go in and do some renovations,” Hernandez says. “There are a couple of vacant buildings that need upgrades. I think the highest and best use of the property would be for the next buyer to be an experienced investor who isn’t afraid to spend some money to update and reshape the community.”
The listing has attracted some interest, Hernandez says. “We had a prospective buyer interested in building a mini resort. Another person wanted to use it as a bed-and-breakfast. We also had a large media group in LA interested in pitching a TV series around the new buyer.”