Entire California town with 28 buildings goes on the market

If you have a spare $7 million, you could be the new owner of an entire town in California — just an hour away from San Diego.

Downtown Campo, a historic unincorporated community and former World War II military base is up for sale for $6,600,000. The sprawling 15.75-acre property at 431 Jeb Stuart Road is a mix of 28 residential and 7 non-residential buildings.

The town has its own local Post Office, a Border Patrol facility, a church, a VFW post, and multiple specialized workshops such as a cabinet shop and metal shop.

“The opportunity extends to revitalizing currently vacant buildings within the town, a move that could add substantial income by introducing new or enhanced services like gyms, laundromats, daycares, or community centers, directly responding to the desires and needs of the local population,” reads the real estate listing.

Las Vegas real estate investor John Ray has owned most of Campo since 2000 and nearly all of the town has been on the market since 2019, according to the Orange County Register.

The sale arrives amid a period of steady growth for the area, which saw its population increase by 10.1% between 2010 and 2020 as more residents look to balance rural tranquility with proximity to urban job centers.

The location originally rose to prominence in 1885 when the Gaskill brothers constructed the fortress-like Campo Stone Store on-site using four-foot-thick walls to protect against border raids.

Decades later, the property underwent a massive transformation during World War II when the U.S. Army absorbed the land to construct Camp Lockett, building a sprawling network of military barracks to garrison the legendary Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th and 28th Cavalry Regiments — the last horse-mounted units in U.S. military history.

Following the war, these exact military structures were preserved rather than demolished, transitioning into private ownership in the late 1950s where they were converted into the residential apartments and long-term commercial spaces that still stand at the address today.

Represented by Top Gun CRE agents Nick Hernandez and Joseph Barela, the property’s value-add and development assets feature approximately 95,000 building square feet, generating a current net operating income (NOI) of $331,521.

“Investing in Campo is more than a financial venture; it is a commitment to nurturing and developing a community with untapped potential,” the real estate firm said on the listing.

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