NEW YORK CITY-Marking the second largest development plan in Midtown East this week, Washington, DC-based Multi-Employer Property Trust and real estate advisor Bentall Kennedy announced it will develop a 35-story, 165-unit apartment building at 309 Fifth Ave., a stone’s throw away from the Empire State Building. The project, which will be located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between East 31^st and East 32^nd streets, will total 122,000 square feet, including 10,400 square feet of retail space on the ground level.

To build this project, MEPT has committed over $100 million in equity to build the project via its $5.3-billion open-end commingled real estate fund. A project team of developer Urban Development Partners, general contractor Lend Lease and project architect SLCE Architects will work on behalf of Bentall Kennedy and MEPT.

While financing for new construction in Manhattan was once difficult to come by, David Antonelli, executive vice president at Bentall Kennedy, says current market conditions support new multifamily building, which is high in-demand in Midtown. “There is a very limited pipeline of new projects, and over the past year there has been positive net absorption of the existing apartment inventory,” he says, in a statement. “As a result, vacancy rates have been trending lower and strong effective rent growth is anticipated.”