Paula Ingram's real estate career began by buying and renovating 12 brownstones in the Brooklyn Heights area for her own portfolio. She opened Paula Ingram Realty in 1983-one of the only full time commercial realties in downtown Brooklyn. Her first commercial client was a $7 billion financial institution, Independence Savings Bank. She helped with the expansion of their main branch and handled all their foreclosures, both residential and commercial.
In 1987, Ingram sold her first office building on Montague St. in Brooklyn Heights. The buyer was the TreeLine Companies whom she introduced to the real estate market five years earlier. This 20+ year relationship with TreeLine has included the sale of three quarters of a million s/f of office space including the Real Estate Board of New York building on East 41st St. in Manhattan, One Old Country Rd. in Mineola, Long Island, 189 and 205 Montague St., and 180 Livingston St., Brooklyn and hundreds of thousands of s/f of office leasing in downtown Brooklyn. Major transactions included firms such as ING Barings, Federated Department Stores, JW Mays and Avalon Bay, a REIT. In 1992, Ingram took on a partner, Robert Hebron and they formed Ingram and Hebron Realty. In the ensuing 15 years Ingram & Hebron has become the dominant commercial broker in downtown Brooklyn, representing 1.2 million s/f of office space and selling seven major commercial properties including office buildings and large development sites.
Ingram has always been active in community betterment projects and presently participating in the formation of the Court/Livingston/Schermerhorn Sts. BID and now sits on its board. This is now Brooklyn's newest and largest BID. Ingram's main contribution to the formation of this BID was her deep knowledge of the financial, political, commercial and social framework of the downtown Brooklyn community. Put another way, Ingram knows everybody in downtown. She also participates in helping seniors at the Cobble Hill Nursing home and has been an active fundraiser and friend to the Brooklyn Children's Museum. Paula also is active in the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership offering help and advice whenever asked, which is frequently.
One of the observations over a 35-year career as a developer and broker has been the phenomenal increase of women in the real estate development field and in senior commercial brokerage, once the exclusive preserve of the "old boy" network. As one of the first in these fields, she knows how tough it is to break through the concrete ceiling and gives all these courageous women a heartfelt "well done." Ingram remembers being first on line at a wholesale electrical supply house with a baby on her hip buying coils of BX cable for her first Brownstone renovation. She was told, "Honey, would you move over. The guys behind you have work to do." In 2007, women are principals in the development of projects with a value in the hundreds of millions of dollars in Brooklyn alone. "We've come a long way, baby, and its only the beginning."
Ingram is now the proud grandmother of a nine month old boy. She and her firm, Ingram & Hebron Realty is presently working on the sale of properties in excess of $100 million and this year Ingram & Hebron Realty has completed leases with an aggregate value of $30 million—hardly the grandmother of yesteryear. Ingram does not like to be describes as a well rounded woman for obvious reasons but she still prepares Shabbat dinner on Friday night and can weave with the best of them.
Her advice to women coming into the real estate business is "Don't be afraid-go for it.Always be courteous, honest and professional. A good woman is as good as a good man." Tags: