It was a beautiful morning for a topping-out ceremony,

The final steel beam (complete with ceremonial Christmas tree) was hoisted to the top of Nic on Fifth, Opus Group's $100 million 26-story luxury apartment building at 5th Street S. and Nicollet Mall Wednesday morning. The beam was signed by about 250 construction workers and Opus employees involved in the project. The project will have 253 units, including 26 penthouses, according to Opus' website.

Opus says Nic on Fifth is the first luxury high-rise built in downtown Minneapolis in nearly three decades, and the first to achieve coveted LEED certification in the market.

The project is slated for completion in summer 2014, and a rental office will open the beginning of January, said Leith Dumas, senior project manager of Opus Design Build LLC.

Janet Moore covers commercial real estate for the Star Tribune.