Not so 'grand' state of St Andrews' Hamilton Hall

Rosemary Dewar, The Citizen, 4 October 2007

Concerns have been growing over the future of the former university residence, Hamilton Hall, behind the 18th hole on the Old Course.

During the Open Championship in Carnoustie this year, developers behind the buidling's planned re-birth as 'St Andrews Grand' an exclusive shared-ownership club, stressed everything was on track and that once the Dunhill Championship — currently being played over St Andrews Old Course, Kingsbarns Links and Carnoustie — was over, people would be amazed at the speed at which work would be completed.

David Wasserman of Rhode Island-based Wasserman Real Estate Capital LLC, which bought the building for a figure believed to be in the region of £20 million from St Andrews University in 2004, and which also has a co-controlling interest in Kingsbarns Golf Links, even joked that US Masters winner and founder member of the club, Phil Mickelson, would be able to walk to the first tee from his own front door when the 2010 Open came to St Andrews.

Four of the 23 residences, priced between £5 and £8 million each, have been sold.

However as shown in this picture of the rear of the premises, taken this week by a Citizen reader, the building looks a long way from completion with rubble strewn around the courtyard, torn polythene covering some of the windows and broken vents left gaping.

At the time of going to press, no comment was available from St Andrews Grand partners Mike di Carlo and David Wasserman.