Will M. Wells Help Lease LIC Apartments?

The Real Deal has an article on how Rockrose Development, who leased M. Wells its current under-construction space at 43-15 Crescent Street, is banking on the popular restaurant boosting real estate interest for the non-waterfront section of Long Island City. The Real Deal calls Court Square a “sleepy commercial district, with some rough edges,” but the folks at Rockrose think M. Wells can be as transformative to the area as Dumont was to Williamsburg. The owners of M. Wells downplay the potential lure of the restaurant. As co-owner Sarah Obraitis says about the new location: “There’s grit. It’s an interesting sort of nexus of the new and the old… I don’t care if there are thousands of people moving into the building across the street.” The neighborhood’s grit may not last long. Rockrose is leasing its 42-story tower at 43-10 Crescent Street nearby, and there are a number of other developments in the works. Construction’s starting soon at the 50-story rental 43-25 Hunter Street, and a 700-unit conversion project is beginning at the Eagle Lofts at 43-22 Queens Street. As for M. Wells, the steakhouse/”meat temple” will open late next month.

Rockrose, M. Wells Beef up Court Square Foodie Cred [TRD]