(Mark Your Calendars: RealShare Apartments East, February 15^th in Washington, DC).

SILVER SPRING, MD-McLean, VA-based apartment developer Insight Property Group and partner Nova-Habitat are preparing to redevelop the Postal Service’s former building here into an apartment building for $75 million. The building is located two blocks from the Silver Spring Metro Station at 8616 Second Ave. The two companies expect to build 310 units at the site, with construction scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year.

“This property is a gateway location in the Silver Spring Central Business District, with great access and visibility,” said Sarah Davidson, a partner at Insight, in a prepared statement.

This property is Insight’s eighth acquisition in the past two years and its fourth Metro-oriented development. It follows an acquisition Insight made in November 2011, when it acquired a property in the H Street NE corridor of Washington, DC. Insight is also under contract to build a project near an existing metro station in Fairfax County.

Although construction is still an iffy proposition in many markets, for the DC area—and in particular, for multifamily—it is as close as one can get to being a no-brainer.

A new Marcus & Millichap report focusing on the area finds that renter demand will grow faster than apartment stock in 2012, as job creation and a large population of recent college graduates form new households. At the same time, tighter residential mortgage requirements will compel many residents to delay home purchases, leaving rentals as the only realistic housing option in desirable areas. Even in Virginia, where nearly 2,500 units will come online this year, vacancy will fall to the mid-3% range. Properties in Maryland near public transportation, the report also noted, command keen interest.