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The tight apartment market in Southwest Portland may spur development of a multifamily project in Multnomah Village.

Ableton Development Group, a Portland-based firm that specializes in residential real estate, recently applied to the city for early assistance with its plans to build a three-story, 22-unit apartment building at 7808 S.W. 31st Ave. While average apartment vacancy in Greater Portland area stands at 3.46 percent, in Southwest it’s as low as 2.8 percent, according to a spring report by Multifamily NW. Meanwhile, rents in the area are pushing $1.41 per square foot – 10 to 20 cents more than for some popular neighborhoods in Southeast and Northeast Portland.

Ableton Development Group purchased its Multnomah Village property in February for $300,000. It’s zoned for medium density, and early plans call for parking on the ground floor. The developer is seeking bonuses through various supplementary amenities and systems. Construction is expected to cost approximately $4 million, according to documents filed with the city.

Neither Ableton nor C2K Architecture (the project architect) representatives could be reached immediately for comment.