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You Have to See the Views This House Has to Believe Them

The master bath with a jetted soaking tub and view in a home at 5775 La Jolla Mesa Blvd. in La Jolla. Photo courtesy of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage
One of the living rooms in a home at 5775 La Jolla Mesa Blvd. in La Jolla.
Photo courtesy of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

There are only a few spots in San Diego County where there are unobstructed views of the southern coastline, downtown San Diego, Mission Bay and beyond. On the southernmost edge of La Jolla, sandwiched between La Jolla Alta to the east and Muirlands to the west, is La Jolla Mesa, where many of the homes have heart-stopping views. The winding, steep drive up La Jolla Mesa Boulevard showcases some of La Jolla’s most distinctive properties.

Kate Woods, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, has a listing in La Jolla Mesa that is one of the most distinctive in all of San Diego. It is a 6,300-square-foot contemporary masterpiece at 5775 La Jolla Mesa Blvd., sited just below the street level on a steep lot.

“Everything is facing the water; the view out to Mission Bay, the fireworks, the whitewater ocean views… the views of Mission Hills, down to the Coronado Bridge,” said Woods, who has been in real estate for decades. “On a clear day, you can even see Table Top Mountain in Mexico.”

Woods said the five-bedroom, six-bath home is an iconic home in La Jolla. The house itself is not visible from the road. From the street, all that is visible is a wood-framed glass front door that opens to a foyer that leads out to one of the home’s many view terraces. The entry is attached to a three-car garage to the right. To the left is a striking fence made of narrow steel posts that doesn’t obstruct the view for the passersby, whether motorists or foot traffic.

“Just about everybody in La Jolla has driven by this home and noted the fencing,” Woods said. “People can see the view through it, yet it gives privacy to the owner.”

The home was built by Elizabeth and William “Bill” Zongker, now deceased. Bill Zongker was a developer and owner of commercial property in San Diego for many years and personally designed the home. Zongker had purchased the land 30 years before he was finally able to build on it in 1999 because most deemed it unbuildable due to its location, but he eventually found a way, according to a 2015 La Jolla Light story by Pat Sherman.

“It took many years for him to get it approved by the City of San Diego,” Woods said.” He built it in a beautiful, contemporary kind of timeless design; many people who come to see the home think it was just built.”

The Zongker’s were well-known in La Jolla through their philanthropic work and partial ownership of several properties in downtown La Jolla. Among them was the former artist’s retreat built in the 1890s known as the Green Dragon Colony on Coast Boulevard in La Jolla. Part of the property is now home to Eddie V’s restaurant. On the remaining portion of the property, three townhomes are planned that will be built with a nod to the original Irving Gill cottages that were once home to musicians, writers, painters and well-known, turn-of-the-century artists.

Zongker’s vision for his retirement home on the hill is itself a work of art.

“All the doors lead out onto these huge, gracious balconies that look out over the view,” Woods said. “In the two-story portion of the home, all the doors are glass-paneled, foldable opening doors, so there are no regular passagelike doors that you would see in a traditional home, like French doors or something.”

Woods said from the entry is a commercial-sized elevator that goes down to the first building of the two-building home. The first building is the three-car garage and entry. The elevator descends to the second building where there is a bedroom and a bath that Zongker used as an office because it’s separate from the main part of the house.

From there, you walk across the courtyard with a lap pool and a putting green that wraps around the house.

The main part of the house is all centered on the mesmerizing view through an expanse of foldable glass doors. Most of the five, en suite bedrooms have the foldable doors leading out to a terrace. All of the terrace’s railings are glass so nothing obstructs the view. The kitchen sink has foldable glass windows that look out over Mission Bay, whitewater breaking on Pacific Beach’s shores, Point Loma and the lights of the city.

Even the jetted soaking tub in the master bathroom looks out over the view.

“And with just one neighbor to the south, it’s not a view that can be taken away because it’s so high on the hill,” Woods said. “It’s so spectacular; it’s really just one of those kinds of homes.”

Send luxury real estate items to sglidden@sdbj.com.

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