Want to buy a town? There’s one in California on sale for $6.6 million

CAMPO, Calif. ( KUSI ) — The historic California town of Campo in southeastern San Diego County is now on the market for potential buyers.

Joseph Barela, of Top Gun Commercial Real Estate, the broker for the town’s sale, told Nexstar’s KUSI that various parties have shown interest in buying the tiny town over the years.

“We had a movie producer, we had Tony Hawk interested at one point,” Barela said.

Campo, located about an hour from San Diego and only about a mile away from the Mexican border, is selling for $6.6 million, Barela said. This includes 16 acres of land and 92,000 square feet of building property, equating to approximately $71 per square foot.

According to The Orange County Register , nearly all of the town has been on the market since 2019, with the current price up from $5.5 million five years ago. The newspaper says Las Vegas investor John Ray has owned most of the town since the early 2000s.

Originally established during World War II to house Buffalo Soldiers (the U.S. Army’s only all-Black cavalry unit) ahead of an invasion that never materialized, the small town has around 100 residents, all renting from a single owner who thinks it is time to pass the properties on to someone with a vision for its future.

“Border Patrol rents a commercial building there. I have got six other commercial tenants as well. There are 28 residential units spread out across 21 residential buildings,” said Barela.

Locals echo the owner’s desire to see the town rejuvenated while preserving its essence.

“It’s pretty nice. It’s a lot quieter than in town,” said Michael Hoffner, a resident of Campo. “You don’t get the hustle and bustle. You get to sleep peacefully, and you get to see the stars out here.”

“Love it down here, the surroundings and the wildlife,” added Tony Martinez, another local.

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