The Connecticut and Western Massachusetts Chapter of SIOR recently held its summer meeting event at the Matrix Corporate Center, the former world headquarters of Union Carbide. It has been redeveloped into a multi-tenant corporate office park by The Matrix Group of Smithtown, N.Y. The Matrix Group hosted this event. Their generous hospitality included providing its corporate conference room for the Chapter meeting, followed by a formal tour of the facility, and completing the evening with a cocktail party and dinner.
Aaron Smiles, Matrix Group's director of operations and development, led the guided tour of the Matrix Corporate Center. The tour included an overview of the 1.2 million s/f 100-acre facility; one of the largest of its kind in the country. Matrix amenities include a corporate conference center with meeting rooms, a full service fitness center, a Starbuck's restaurant, a convenience store, game rooms, a dry cleaner and a dining facility hosted by a world class chef.

The dinner featured speakers attorney David Glissman (MacDermid, Reynolds and Glissman P.C.) and appraiser Patrick Wellspeak (Wellspeak, Dugas and Kane). Glissman and Wellspeak, who both speak regularly at chapter events, interactively presented to the SIOR Connecticut Chapter members. The discussions focused on the growing trends, challenges and changing laws in the commercial real estate marketplace.