Want to own a former Air Force station in SLO County? For $3.2 million, you can
A dramatically spectacular piece of Cold War history is on the market in San Luis Obispo County again.
The former U.S. Air Force General Surveillance Radar station located on 34 acres in Cambria was listed Oct. 12 on Realtor.com for $3.2 million.
In 2004, movie producer Bernd Schaefers paid $2 million for the site.
He said then he had big plans for the hilltop compound with its 360-degree, sweepingly unobstructed vistas of the ocean and surrounding cattle ranches and hills.
Previous owners, too, had dreams for the station high above the Pacific, ranging from a rehabilitation site for ex-cons to a trade school or habitat-and-environment restoration and protection hub, according to Tribune archives.
Now the site is up for sale as part of bankruptcy proceedings, according to listing agent Dick Keenan of Keller Williams Realty Central Coast.
When reached for comment, Keenan said he could not provide other details on the listing without permission from bankruptcy trustee Nancy Zamora in Los Angeles. As of Tuesday, Keenan had not returned follow-up requests for information from The Tribune.
What’s at former Air Force radar station property?
The property was owned and operated by the Air Force from the 1940s until 1980.
The radar site about 3 miles south of Cambria was established in 1951 to scan for enemy plane and missiles.
The listing for 202 Monte Cristo Place highlights a 2,092-square-foot, five-bedroom, two-bath single family home with hardwood floors. It’s said that it used to be a commander’s office.
The listing also highlights the home’s kitchen equipped with granite countertops and double ovens. The for-sale notes also mention secure gated access to the property.
There also are more than a dozen other buildings on the compound, in varying condition.
The listing states that any buyer of the property will have to handle due diligence about environmental assessments, entitlements, utilities and zoning. There’s also a continuing cleanup of asbestos-PCB contamination.
There is reportedly limited water at the former station, also formerly known as the Cambria Air Force Station.
Other amenities on the base when the facility was being used by airmen — according to a map of the site and other records, including a 1968 article in the Telegram Tribune — have included a movie theater, library, commissary and drug store, officers’ club, mess hall, barracks, radar tower, workshop, putting green, outdoor basketball court and a two-lane bowling alley that was said to be the smallest in the county.
The for-sale listing doesn’t indicate if any of those were still in usable condition.
Asbestos contamination will be costly to remediate
Members of the public used to have access to some base facilities, but that ended in 2007 when the county declared there were health risks from asbestos contamination.
Other government environmental agencies also reportedly issued closure notices.
Asbestos was commonly used in construction of barracks and other buildings, as well as for pipe insulation. The mineral fiber was malleable and fireproof, but now is widely known as a carcinogen.
The fiber, which is also found in soil, is not harmful unless the asbestos is disturbed through digging, construction or demolition and becomes airborne. Long-term exposure can cause lung cancer.
A previous owner had received a $3.5 million estimate in the early 2000s for the cost to clean up the asbestos on the site, according to an incident report.
Later, a Cambria man was convicted and received a brief sentence to serve in county jail for illegally removing the carcinogen from some areas and for doing unpermitted renovations on two buildings and a septic system at the Cold War-era military facility.
SLO County property has been for sale before
This wasn’t the first time the property has been on the market in recent years.
Schaefers listed the scenic Cambria Air Force Station property for sale for $4.375 million three times in 2020.
He also received four county permits for commercial construction between 2018 and 2021, according to the current for-sale listing.
At one point, Cal Poly students had a study project to provide ideas for future uses of the land and facilities.
With its jaw-dropping view and the acreage, Keenan said he was hoping for a quick sale that could lead to a bright new future for the spectacular hilltop slice of North Coast and United States history.
This story was originally published October 14, 2025 at 11:26 AM.
