It was time to write this story. It has bothered me for so long that I need it off my chest once and for all. This is the (very) brief accounting of what happened to my partner and my purchase of Hamilton Hall.
Sometime in 2004, my business partner and I submitted the winning bid to buy Hamilton Hall from the University of St Andrews. While we were clever enough to recognize a great building, we had no real estate development experience. Our cleverness ended there when we failed to select the right partner. We are responsible for bringing this wonderful, Victorian landmark to Wasserman Real Estate Capital (WREC). That was our grave error.
Hamilton Hall
While the possibility of a economic score seemed possible and probable, our primary concern was that the project was done properly and with consideration for St Andrews, Scotland and the world of golf. If this happened, everything else would take care of itself. We were, after all, homeowners in the town and long time visitors to St Andrews and Scotland. Although Hamilton Hall has many constituencies, this was completely lost on WREC. Until the time of purchase, the WREC principles had been to Scotland once and that was on a boondoggle hosted by Bentley Motor Cars. Seeing Scotland through the eyes of a luxury automobile company hardly qualifies one to develop one of Scotland’s most important and iconic buildings. In retrospect, Wasserman Real Estate Capital wasn’t remotely qualified to develop this building. They didn’t have the necessary capital, the knowledge or the experience to turn this into a success for all. They expected it to sell itself. And while this is not a viable strategy, it almost did sell itself.
For months on end, I sounded like a broken record. “It’s a great building but what are we selling,” I asked repeatedly. “When people/members arrive here, what type of experience are we delivering to them?” I was not alone. In the course of 18 months, WREC hired and fired not less than 11 sales/marketing/public relations companies, all of whom were saying exactly the same thing. This was not a good message to send to the marketplace. Deadline after deadline was missed. Bills weren’t paid or were delayed indefinitely. Lies were the order of the day. David Wasserman would constantly tell us that if we got more members to sign up, then we could spend money on marketing material and amenities. I have email after email where he would blame everyone but himself for the lack of sales. Yet, he said he would handle the sales exclusively. But think about this for one second, how can a project be set up for success if sales were needed to drive the expenditure for marketing materials? David Wasserman ensured his own failure and those around him.
His lips are moving...
Today, the building stands vacant, a shell of its former glory as the Grand Hotel. Nothing has been done for over two years. I remember hosting a series of cocktail parties at my home in St Andrews where David Wasserman presented his plan to the local citizens. Not one word of his plan ever came to fruition. He constantly told people that work would begin, only for that deadline to uneventfully expire.
I couldn’t be more sad about a project that started with so much promise. I am convinced that in the right hands, this project would have not only worked but flourished. Now, it is the perfect Harvard Business School case study…for what not to do. I do not expect WREC to be the lead developer on anything that goes forward with this project. They don’t have the resources. Their professional staff has left and the bank holds the mortgage for the total of the purchase price. Shortly, the bank will determine the future of this wonderful building by announcing its new owner.
Though I am sad that I am no longer involved in my dream project, I am thrilled to hear that the building will be resold. My fondest hope is that Hamilton Hall’s new ownership understands the building’s importance to the town, Scotland and the world of golf. This grand building deserves to be restored to its former glory and once again be a source of great pride for the people of St Andrews.
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This morning, I sat on my bed, head-in-hands and relived the worst sleepless night in longest memory. In many ways, I felt like the over-the-hill, heavyweight fighter that just stepped out of the ring with the world champ. It hurt like hell now but I knew it would be far worse three days later when the pain settled. I rose from bed and took my first halting steps. I hung my head. My muscles ached but the worst part was how my mind burned. I felt like a three time widower with a streak of bad luck. There was nothing I could do. There never is. It happened, it’s over and it is time to move on. The problem I’m having is that I’m just not sure if I can stomach the incessant introduction over the next 12 months of the New York Yankees as World Champions. I guess I won’t show my pain. They would enjoy that. The bastards.
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