AREW luncheon focuses on Jersey's Colgate Center.

Central to Jersey City's tremendous growth as a commercial office destination is Colgate Center, a 20-acre parcel on the waterfront that has attracted major developers, prestigious tenants and, most recently, purchase of parcels by Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.

The Association of Real Estate Women's (AREW) April 4th luncheon, sponsored by Hines, features a panel of three key players in Colgate Center: Louise M. Matthews, director, corporate real estate, Colgate-Palmolive Company; Michael J. Shenot, director, real estate planning and transactions, Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.; and, Scott Salmirs, vice president, Goldman Sachs. The luncheon begins at noon at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue.

For more than 150 years, Colgate Center was a Colgate-Palmolive manufacturing site. Upon shuttering the factory in 1986, Colgate employed Brennan Beer Gorman/Architects and Cushman Realty as consultants to create a master plan for 8 million square feet of mixed-use development. The master plan envisioned transforming the site into a world class complex of residential, retail and commercial buildings that would take advantage of newly created vistas of the Manhattan skyline.

Merrill Lynch acquired 99 Hudson Street in fall 1999, which will be developed into a 1.2 million square foot office tower. This is in addition to 300,000 square feet of space it leases at 101 Hudson Street and an agreement to lease another 300,000 square feet at 95 Greene Street, a former Colgate building redeveloped by SJP Properties.

The last three remaining parcels at Colgate Center were acquired by Goldman Sachs in early 2000. Goldman Sachs is developing 30 and 50 Hudson Street, a 6.6 acre complex, plans for which include a 1.5 million square foot building which will be New Jersey's tallest office tower, a conference and training facility, a 250 room hotel and 1,500 space below-grade parking garage beneath the three buildings.

At Colgate-Palmolive Company, Louise M. Matthews is responsible for developing and implementing plans for purchase and lease of real estate assets to support Colgate's business needs around the world. She also directs efforts to sell surplus properties no longer needed for business operations.

Michael J. Shenot has management responsibility for Merrill Lynch & Co.'s New York Metropolitan area real estate portfolio covering approximately 8 million square feet of office space. He joined Merrill Lynch in 1990 as development manager for 101 Hudson Street in Colgate Center.

Scott Salmirs is in charge of core and shell construction and development planning for the Goldman Sachs & Co. 30 Hudson Project. He is responsible for development strategy and construction planning, procurement and execution. Additionally, he leads the effort for zoning and traffic improvements. Mr. Salmirs has also taken the lead role in the firm's negotiations to provide private lodging to the complex.

There is no charge for the luncheon for paid AREW members. The cost for non-members is $75 per person. Reservations must be received by March 29th. Send check made payable to AREW to: AREW, c/o Rebecca M. May, Caran Properties, Inc., 150 East 58th Street, 27th Floor, New York, NY 10155-2795.