By Alita Singh
Mathematics, football, real estate and Tamarind Hotel all have one person in common – Paul Ingram – the Pointe Blanche property’s fairly new manager. Ingram has begun to put his mark, again, on a hotel that the trees and faded paint have threatened into further obscurity. Purple bougainvilleas climbing gracefully up the trellis were the first sign of new life. Steadily, the branches of the flamboyant trees covering the court seem to stand proudly as they danced with the wind.
Ingram’s path to St. Maarten and Tamarind Hotel started out in a classroom in Connecticut where he was a mathematics teacher. He taught mathematics, but his part-Dutch blood singed for football (or soccer – as it is referred to in the United States). That football melody would, with some pit stops, lead him to St. Maarten as it was blooming in the 1970s and back again in 2010.
All stories should start at the beginning and Ingram’s started in Bali where he was born. After independence, his father moved the family to the United States where Paul and his siblings would grow up.
The industriousness and passion for football endemic in the Dutch were traits Ingram possessed. That possession guided him out of the classroom into the world of real estate, another avenue on his path to indulge his football cravings.
Using his mathematic savvy and a nose for the right investment properties, Ingram acquired properties in Connecticut – buying, selling and managing. His dream of a football team got closer and, finally, he became the owner and manager of the Connecticut Wildcats.
With the help of Dutch coach Rene Koremans, the Wildcats in 1973 went on to be called “the best professional soccer team in America” by Soccer America founder and publisher Clay Berling. Ingram, a year later, was named “Manager of the Year” by the American Soccer League Inc.
Journey to a warmer place
Money made in real estate and success in soccer off his check list, Ingram was set on a new path after he attended a lecture at Hartford University. The presenting professor promoted the Caribbean as the next big thing in real estate because Americans were living longer and were heading more south in the winter.
The professor painted a picture of the untapped potential of the chain of islands creating a boundary between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic. He also spoke about the availability of limited beachfront properties.
This real estate trend piqued Ingram’s interest. He began learning about the Caribbean of which he knew little and started to explore options for investment. Jamaica was his first stop, but family members pointed out this was not yet a good choice because the country was in transition from a British colony to independence. Aruba and Bonaire followed, but they failed to charm.
Ingram’s wife Judy happened upon some photographs of St. Maarten in the late 1970s. She was enthralled and so was her husband. “My wife said St. Maarten was a beautiful island.” Seeing St. Maarten’s potential for roots, the couple headed here.
Tamarind express
Within hours of arriving and checking into Holland House, Ingram sought out the Chamber of Commerce office for advice on buying real estate. He was directed to the offices of Gary Tackling on Front Street. The two men immediately found kinship through their shared connection with Hartford, Connecticut, where Ingram grew up.
Ingram contacted St. Maarten buying fever almost immediately and bought on his first day a six-unit apartment complex in Cole Bay. It was a decision with some doubt because Ingram wondered about managing a property so far away from his home in the United States where he had a large number of apartments. His fears were short lived when he found a steady manager.
Some properties later, Ingram’s connection with Tamarind Hotel would take shape. Developer Jan Visser approached him to finance the property’s swimming pool. He took on the challenge only to be told after by Visser that no further repayment would be coming. The project was in financial trouble. Visser offered Ingram and another investor Wilhelm Smit apartments in what would become the 56-unit hotel in lieu of payment.
Smit, known for his work on the Government Building on Clem Labega Square, took nine apartments. Ingram opted for one unit and later bought more as time progressed. He would later own 19 of the apartments.
Ingram and his wife put roots down in St. Maarten. He gathered real estate and founded a football team called the Panthers. Judy taught in the Methodist Agogic Centre (MAC). Together, they raised their sons.
Revival
Fast forward to 2010, Ingram is again involved with Tamarind Hotel. He bought the management contract for the hotel in March 2011 together with the office building, laundry and deli. He is also lease holder for the hotel’s land.
The pull to return to St. Maarten was partially related to the state of the United States real estate market and the Ingram family ties here. “My heart is here. There are a lot of memories here. My sons grew up here. My wife taught school here.”
The 54-studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units are individually owned and are rented as hotel rooms with prices per night starting at US $85. Long term rentals, ranging from $800 to $2,160, are also possible.
Tamarind Hotel boasted one of the highest occupancy rates in the past low season. “With an average occupancy rate of 80.40 per cent for July (low season),” Ingram wrote in one of his almost daily news update to owners, “we might again have the highest occupancy rate of all the hotels in St. Maarten.”
Tamarind Hotel guests are a mix of Dutch, Americans, Caribbean and other travellers from elsewhere in the world.
After signing the purchase for the management contract, Ingram didn’t sit still. He attacked areas of neglect around the property with gusto. “When I came here, things were falling apart.” Nothing was spared the revival. The garden was tamed. Among the first additions were five pots of purple bougainvilleas.
“Years ago, Tamarind guests used to enjoy relaxing in beautiful tropical gardens; I plan to restore this old glory. Improving the gardens will create positive impressions of our hotel … The result will be higher potential for future income and investment value for our owners,” Ingram said.
“Tamarind has started to smile again with a growing potential that benefits everyone,” Ingram said, as he outlined plans to retire here. He and his wife are becoming the snow birds they catered to in the past with real estate investments.
Tamarind showcase
Ingram also works in the garden occasionally as “a productive break” from the office. In those breaks, Ingram ponders on new improvement for Tamarind peppered with some family concerns such as how his sister, First Lady of Greece, Shanna Ingram Papademos, and her husband, Greece President Lucas Papademos, are weathering their country’s financial storms and if they will ever get time to visit.
Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf proclaimed well known artist Ingram Papademos as the new mother of all Greeks. “Mamademos, let it be known that she prayed her husband, even though he only has three months, would make a difference.”
Showing a copy of the newspaper with the article, Ingram joked, “Then I must be at least an uncle to the Greek.” Smiling, he flipped to the entertainment section. The front page proclaims the wedding of Dutch folk signer Jan Smit in St. Maarten. “Look at this! What a coincidence.”
Ingram has been steadily pushing the promotion of Tamarind Hotel through targeted advertising. De Telegraaf’s piece about Jan Smit was like icing on a wedding cake; great for showcasing.
