There’s something special about spending the night out on the town...when you own the town. There just happens to be a town for sale in California, 80 kilometres southeast of San Diego and a kilometre-and-a-half north of the Mexican border. It’s called Campo and it can be yours for a mere US$6.6 million. The price includes 28 residential units in 21 buildings as well as commercial buildings in mixed condition as some need renovations, reports NDTV, adding not all need work, "A number of the residential buildings have been renovated for aesthetics and comfort, including new roofing and plank flooring.” The buyer also has the option of ponying up some extra cash to demolish and rebuild part of the town to modernize it, including adding new housing options, commercial spaces and improved infrastructure. .Campo is listed by Nick Hernandez and Joseph Barela, realtors with Top Gun CRE, a commercial real estate agency in San Diego. Barela told KUSI-TV in San Diego they have had a number of interested parties, including such a famous movie producer (whose identity he didn't disclose), as well as professional skateboarder Tony Hawk. “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,” Barela told KUSI. .The history of Campo stretches back to the late 1800s, when it was used as an Arizona Railway stop, according to San Diego Real Estate Hunter, eventually being developed into an agricultural village and traces of its past are still evident. During the Second World War, Campo housed the African American cavalry force known as the Buffalo Soldiers, who used horses to protect the area. Italian and German prisoners of war are rumoured to have been kept at Camp Lockett, a former US Army base, as per USA Today. “After World War II, the Army barracks were converted into apartments,” Hernandez told the New York Post. “About a hundred individuals live in the town nowadays, all of them rent from the current owner, John Ray, a Las Vegas real estate investor.” “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.” “It is essentially the entire downtown portion of Campo that is available,” adds Henandez. “The only portion that is not owned by the seller is the fire station.” “Border Patrol rents a commercial building there. I have got six other commercial tenants as well,” says Barela. A Baptist church, a US Post Office, chapters of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, a metal shop, a cabinet shop and a lumber shop are among the commercial tenants. The property has “the potential for high cash flow and significant upside through strategic development and honed operations,” according to the Top Gun CRE listing. Ray is searching for a buyer who has an eye towards the future. “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, as per New York Post, adding, “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.”
