Grand vision, soon to be shared - Love affair leads to Scottish landmark

Jim McCabe, Boston Globe, 6 May 2006

True to his Boston roots, Mike DiCarlo was tuned in to the Bruins' game that memorable Mother's Day in 1970.

True to the passion that burned within, he was doing so while walking the George Wright Golf Course in his Hyde Park neighborhood.

"When Bobby Orr scored [to win the Stanley Cup], I was on the 12th fairway," said DiCarlo, fully aware that probably every other breathing soul in Boston that day was glued to the television.

Such is the pull that the game has always had on him, first as a caddie, then as an enthusiastic player.

"Golf," said DiCarlo. "I just love the game."

Little did DiCarlo know that May day that 35 years later, he would own a small -- but extraordinarily precious -- piece of the game, a landmark that has stood for more than a century and helped serve as the backdrop to many of golf's most treasured moments. Having long ago given his heart to the Auld Grey Toon -- St. Andrews, Scotland, the cradle of golf -- DiCarlo completed his love affair with a business transaction that serves as a testament to his commitment to the city on the shores of the North Sea.

It is a majestic six-story, red-brick building at the corner of Scores Street and Golf Place that dominates the view as you tee off at the first hole or trudge up the 18th fairway at St. Andrews' Old Course. Back in the days of Edward VIII and Bobby Jones, it was the Grand Hotel, then for decades it was Hamilton Hall, a dormitory for stately St. Andrews University.

Now, it is St. Andrews Grand, a soon-to-be luxury golf residence for 115 members, as unique and exclusive an enclave as there is.

Meet your owner-operator, Mike DiCarlo of Hyde Park, Mass.

OK, so that's an oversimplification, because deals of this magnitude -- and to buy the building required 20 million pounds (or roughly $40 million) -- aren't completed single-handedly. Indeed, the purchase of the esteemed property that sits across the street from the world's most famous golf course was a team effort, which hits upon the aspect of the story that fascinates.

The idea and the team was put in motion by DiCarlo, and it called for icons from local business worlds -- Patrick Lyons, whose Midas touch in Boston entertainment circles is legendary, and David Wasserman, whose respected real estate company in Providence has done renowned restoration work throughout the country.

Together, they agreed on a philosophy that is at the heart of their endeavor.

"This had the potential to be a lot of things," said DiCarlo. "A hotel, a basic time-share, any number of things. We decided on a member-residence club. We felt that the best way to preserve this building was to put people in it who could afford to preserve it. It's 111 years old. We're resetting the clock on this building. But we're keeping the heritage of the building, by getting like-minded people in it, people who love the spirituality of the game."

His trips to Scotland are too many to number, as many as five to 10 for each of the last 30 years, and DiCarlo, 50, has just returned from another. He walked through the St. Andrews Grand, on which a 22-month restoration project is due to begin in July, and came away more convinced than ever that the deal is a dream come true.

"It is," said DiCarlo, "a masterpiece in mothballs."

Infatuation and opportunity

How it came to be in possession of these men from New England is a story within a story, one that starts with a spur-of-the-moment trip to Scotland by a then-20-year-old college student.

"It was a family reunion in London," said DiCarlo, "but I also decided to travel to Scotland."

Rarely had DiCarlo, a Boston Latin High School product, ventured far from Boston, his studies having consumed him at Stonehill College and later at the University of Massachusetts. But amid the stone-gray buildings and fair-minded people of St. Andrews, DiCarlo became mesmerized and during a round of golf on the Old Course, his life was shaped forever by an incident that still resonates.

"I met a guy who told me so much about the town's history and regaled me with stories about the course," DiCarlo said. ``When we were done, he invited me to his home to have dinner with his family. I couldn't believe it, but I couldn't get enough of it."

Thus was a love affair born.

"You won't find a lot of 20-year-olds who want to go to St. Andrews, but I did," said DiCarlo, who admired the Scots and their appreciation for life's simple pleasures. ``The good people are the thing there. They are the rule, not the exception."

Even as he became successful working in the mutual funds division of John Hancock's Equity Department, DiCarlo eschewed more glamorous vacation destinations for returns to St. Andrews and other points of interest within Scotland. ``I kept going back, and not always to play golf," said DiCarlo, who by now had made great friends in St. Andrews. Frequently, he organized golf trips for his friends and associates in Boston and he made it a priority to talk Lyons into such a sojourn.

"I told him, 'You're going to understand this game whether it kills me or not,' " said DiCarlo.

They had met by happenstance at a function to promote one of those "Who's Who" in the Boston business world, and DiCarlo and Lyons immediately hit it off. Lyons hardly needs an introduction, the czar of all things that revolve around night life in Boston. His group owns upward of 25 bars, clubs, and restaurants, and it's hard to imagine not having eaten, drank, or danced in an establishment that doesn't owe its success to Lyons, an entrepreneur of impeccable credentials.

But Scotland? For golf?

"I let him talk me into it," said Lyons, who not only loved it, he wanted to be part of it. He suggested to DiCarlo that they purchase what is commonly referred to as a ``golf house" and what resulted was the Monarchs House in St. Andrews, a free-standing stone building in which a group of eight can reside in comfort.

"It's done well for us, and only through word of mouth," said Lyons. "We've hardly promoted it at all."

The fact that Lyons grasped the unique virtues on his first trip to Scotland impressed DiCarlo, though it didn't surprise him. ``Patrick is one of those guys with incredible vision," said DiCarlo. "He can fly 30,000 feet above something and zero in on possibilities that others can't even imagine."

So when DiCarlo last year learned of the university's plans to sell Hamilton Hall, the wheels started spinning. It was too great an opportunity to pass up. Lyons agreed.

DiCarlo by now was a well-respected ``citizen" of the town, a guy whose respect for the heritage of Scotland, its citizenry, its golf, and its beloved Old Course was unquestioned, and in Lyons he had a willing partner. They also had other groups that wanted Hamilton Hall, one of which had ties to British royalty, so DiCarlo didn't hold out much hope and concedes he was stunned when he heard the bid was accepted.

"I called Patrick and said, 'You'll never believe this, but we own Hamilton Hall,' " said DiCarlo.

"Great," said Lyons. "Now what do we do with it?"

Extravagant price tag

Enter yet another Boston business icon, Thomas Lee of leverage fame, who had an answer to that question. He brought Lyons and Wasserman together, a meeting that Lee predicted would be beneficial to both, and given his enormous business success, it's little surprise he was right.

"It's like living at Butler Cabin," Wasserman said of the St. Andrews Grand, a project that his company embraced after a trip to Scotland. He said he was impressed by the town's history and all those special intangibles that DiCarlo and Lyons had boasted of, and as a passionate golfer, Wasserman was blown away by something else.

"The classic courses are there, of course, but there are 30 golf courses within an hour-and-half ride that people don't even know about," he said.

DiCarlo and Lyons are clear about one thing. They saw the potential in the building and while they know finances and how to market, the project right now is in the hands of Wasserman Real Estate Capital, LLC.

"David's the developer. He's driving the bus," said Lyons.

"He understands what we got into this for," said DiCarlo. "Their company has been in business for 50 years. Think about that. A real estate company in business for 50 years? That's unique. It means they pick smart projects and get it done the way it's supposed to get done."

Lyons's feel for what the paying public desires has served him well ever since he arrived in Boston on a bus from his native Buffalo some 30 years ago and started his career at a place called Uncle Sam's on Nantasket Beach. His establishments have kept up with the times and few business icons have been able to keep reinventing themselves quite like Lyons. So it's no shock that he is deeply involved in this project.

"We want people who `get it,' " said Wasserman. ``We're trying to create a club as opposed to a real estate deal."

It goes without saying that the price tag is extravagant, with 10-week increments of ownership starting at $1.3 million and annual dues running roughly at $14,000, but no one involved in the project is the least bit worried about securing 115 members. There will be three- and four-bedroom residences, and amenities inside the St. Andrews Grand will include a spa, a health center, concierge services, a pub, and private dining rooms. Playing privileges on the Old Course are not included, but preferred times on St. Andrews's six other courses, as well as acclaimed layouts at Kingsbarns, Crail, and Elie, are.

But above all, Wasserman insists the restoration and reconstruction project will keep the building true to the character of the town.

"I had a vision for the project," he said. "I visited the town and met the people. I said, 'This is what I believe, tell me what you know.' I enjoy projects like this, in places where people have a connection to buildings."

Wasserman last fall took part in a European PGA Tour pro-am event called the Dunhill Links and was amazed at the citizenry. ``People followed our round of golf. The place just resonates with people." DiCarlo smiles when he hears that, because it's how he felt as a 20-year-old and it's how he felt just last week when he walked the streets of St. Andrews.

DiCarlo is so enamored with the town and so wrapped up in the project that he retired Dec. 31. From sales to marketing to design, he is involved in the St. Andrews Grand, which is why he has made five trips to Scotland this year.

"And if I were a betting man," he said, ``I'd say I'll at least double that by the end of the year."