A real estate fund is about to begin construction on a 35-story Residential Rental Tower On Fifth Avenue, Crain’s reported. Multi-Employer Property Trust, which last month bought the site at 309 Fifth Avenue, between 31st and 32nd streets, is the lead investor in the project, which is being developed by Urban Development Partners. The plan calls for a 122,000-square-foot property with 165 rental units and 10,400 square feet of retail. It is slated to open in September 2013.
“Currently, there is a limited pipeline of new projects,” said David Antonelli, vice president at Bentall Kennedy, Multi-Employer Property Trust’s real estate advisor. “We believe demand for new apartments will remain strong for the foreseeable future due to demographic and economic trends.”
Multi-Employer Property Trust is based in Bethesda, Md. but has invested in several New York City rental properties, including the Ventura at 300 East 64th Street, 1659 Second Avenue and the Octagon Apartments on Roosevelt Island. It’s also invested in the W New York-Union Square. [Crain’s]