Listing: Pending
San Diego, CA
32.766° N · 117.058° W

A midcentury
bungalow, dressed
for today.

Three bedrooms, one bath, and a freestanding Malm Zircon fireplace on a quiet street in Central San Diego — a 1951 home, quietly remodeled, with the patina kept on purpose.

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List price $849,000
Bedrooms 3
Bathroom 1
Interior 1,268sqft
Lot 6,300sqft
The home

Built in 1951.
Loved into now.

4036 Loma Alta is the kind of home that does the heavy lifting for you. The bones — floor-to-ceiling windows that pour light into the living room, original oak floors, plaster walls with their soft hand — were already here. The current owners focused on the updates that matter most.

The bathroom is new — Kohler and Clé throughout. The fireplace is a freestanding Malm Zircon, the genuine midcentury cone — and it stays with the house. The backyard was fully redesigned with apache pink decomposed granite, drip irrigation, and a Palm Springs-style cactus garden. Multiple seating areas make the most of a larger-than-average lot — a hammock and room to spread out.

It's a small house that lives bigger than its footprint. Between the permitted garage conversion, the outdoor space, and the light that fills every room, it gives you more than the numbers suggest.

What you get

The highlights.

The highlights up front. The rest is best seen in person.

01 —

A light-filled living room

Light from floor-to-ceiling windows, morning to dusk, falling across hardwood floors refinished end to end. The original 1951 footprint, kept honest.

02 —

The Malm Zircon fireplace

A genuine freestanding midcentury cone — the sculptural centerpiece the whole room is quietly arranged around. It's electric with flame visual effects and optional heat, and it stays with the house.

03 —

A bathroom you'll photograph

Kohler and Clé throughout, a custom walnut vanity, and a polished concrete shower — considered materials, good fixtures, and the kind of finish work you notice the moment you walk in.

04 —

Three bedrooms plus extra space

Three original bedrooms plus a permitted garage conversion that works as a den, studio, home office, or guest room — done with permits, done right.

05 —

A backyard built for evenings

Drought-tolerant landscaping on drip irrigation — low-water, low-fuss — with a Palm Springs-style cactus garden and multiple seating areas for the part of the evening nobody wants to end.

06 —

Ready for what's next

Solar, central HVAC, updated plumbing, a Google Nest Camera smart security system, and an EV charger already in place — the unglamorous upgrades that matter, already handled.

The story

Seventy-five years, well kept.

A short timeline of what's been changed, what's been preserved, and what was left exactly as it was found.

1951

Built

A quintessential post-war San Diego bungalow goes up on Loma Alta — single story, low-slung, glass to the street.

1980s

Extra space, done right

The garage converted into a permitted bonus room — a flexible space that works as a den, studio, home office, or guest room.

2010s

Systems quietly modernized

Central HVAC and solar installed — the unglamorous upgrades that make a house work, done properly.

2023

Returned to its bones

Original oak floors sanded and refinished in a clear satin. The bathroom taken down to studs and rebuilt with Clé tile, Kohler fixtures, a custom walnut vanity, and a polished concrete shower. All in-house plumbing replaced.

2024

Backyard rebuilt for evenings

Drought-tolerant landscaping put in on drip irrigation, a Palm Springs-style cactus garden planted with smart home controlled LED string lights. EV charger installed.

2026

Final touches

House, trim, and gutters freshly repainted. The front yard landscaped with drought-resistant plants. Move-in ready.

Neighborhood

Central San Diego, the quiet side.

Loma Alta sits on a low ridge between the canyons — a sleepy block of single-story homes, old jacarandas, and afternoon shade.

Downtown is fourteen minutes by the freeway and Coronado Beach is nineteen in light traffic. The neighborhood is built on gentle rolling hills with lush, mature vegetation throughout — quiet streets lined with midcentury bungalows that have kept their character.

Rolando Park Elementary School 8 min walk
Lake Murray Park Trail 8 min drive
Kroc Center Pool & Sports 3 min drive
Balboa Park Museums 11 min drive
Mission Trails Regional Park Open space 14 min drive
Coronado Beach Beach 19 min drive
Visit · Schedule

Come on by.

Available by private appointment at almost any hour. Bring questions. Bring your contractor. We'll have coffee on.

Byram Frost
Byram Frost
Listing agent · LPT Realty, Inc. · DRE #02003578

Request a private tour

No pressure. We'll reach out by the end of the day.