We put an extension on top of our £1m penthouse apartment in Leeds - the views are spectacular
When George and Diane McKerracher moved from Glasgow to Leeds over two decades ago they weren’t sure where to put down roots.
To give themselves time to get to know their new home, they opted for a temporary base in the heart of the centre, buying an apartment at The Quays on Concordia Street, just steps from Malmaison.
They enjoyed city centre living so much that when Brewery Wharf was built on the south bank of the river Aire in 2005, they snapped up a penthouse, seduced by a terrace that was as big as the apartment inside. "The outdoor space was fabulous,” says George, a former Asda director.
The couple immediately turned the three bedrooms into two spacious bedrooms but a couple of years later they decided they needed more space.
According to George, it took nearly two years to secure permission from both the council’s building control and Brewery Wharf, but they eventually succeeded in getting approval to punch through the roof and add an extension on top of their apartment for a master bedroom.
"It’s seven floors up so everything had to come up and down by crane,” says George. “It had to have special structural steel supports and ended up being quite a complex issue, but everything had to be done by the letter of the law so it took about six months in total to complete.”
The apartment has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large L-shaped living room with terrace access and gable windows with long views down the river.
Over the years, the apartment has been updated with fresh paint, a new floor and new bathroom tiles.
The terrace is the most recent space to undergo a substantial makeover. Last year new decking was laid and the stunning space now includes olive trees, palm trees, large planters, an irrigation system plus lights and music speakers.
"The terrace is a fabulous space. It gets sunshine from dawn to dusk and we added a glass wall down the side of the terrace to keep the wind away,” says George.
When the couple moved back to Glasgow during Covid, they rented it out to their friend, Leeds United player Robin Koch, for three years.
These days they use it as a base for visiting friends in Leeds but having just bought a new home in Manilva, Spain, they’ve decided to put it on the market. “It’s a bit of a luxury to have it and now we’re both retired there’s no real reason to keep the Leeds apartment,” says George. “It will break our hearts, though, because we love the place, it’s a fabulous apartment.
"The views are spectacular no matter where you are in the apartment. If you’re in the extension and you look to your right there’s a landscape view over the city, which is fabulous. If you look to your left, you can see all the way down the river, which is great. If you’re on the terrace, you’ve got a complete panoramic view.
"When you get the weather, it’s fabulous to sit in the sunshine on the terrace and we’d stay out there until 1am or 2am.”
The penthouse at Balmoral Place is on the market for £1.095m with Zenko City Living zenkoproperties.co.uk