Winter is a tough time to lease apartments, but the developers of the 4Marq apartment tower in downtown Minneapolis finished the project a few months ahead of schedule and decided to open early. Its first nine renters moved in this week.

4Marq is a 31-story tower at the corner of 4th Street and Marquette Avenue in the heart of the Central Business District, a zone that until recently has been nearly devoid of any new rental housing. Now, there are several hundred luxury apartments in two new high-rise buildings, the converted Soo Line office building and the 222 Hennepin Apartments.

4Marq is the tallest, narrowest and newest of the batch, and it offers renters a few unusual perks. Unlike most of today's new apartment buildings, all of the resident amenities are on the top floor of the building so that it's not just penthouse dwellers who get to enjoy the best views.

Those amenities include a yoga room with regular weekly instructors, three kinds of stationary bikes and several gathering spaces that can be reserved for special events. There's also a "technology bar" with two PCs, an Apple computer and a bird's-eye view of Target Field.

All of those resident spaces are surrounded by an enclosed terrace with fire pits, lots of lounge space and 360-degree views of the city. The building also has 24-hour concierge service and three 4Marq bikes to share.

The tower also brings a fresh look to the downtown skyline. Minneapolis-based UrbanWorks Architecture designed a sleek tower of white precast concrete panels that frame floor-to-ceilings windows. The first-floor lobby space is more refined than normal. It sits below six levels of parking, which are concealed by shimmering, double-layer perforated metal panels that eliminate the need for mechanical ventilation.

4Marq completed development a few months early and has opened to renters.

Mortenson started building the tower in 2014 and quickly sold it to American International Group, which contracted with Chicago-based Lincoln Property Company to manage the leasing operations. 4Marq's business manager, Jane Sorman, said the building was designed to appeal to a very broad cross section of renters. Rents average about $2.51 per square foot.

The building was originally slated to have 262 apartments. At the last minute, the designers reconfigured the layouts to create more three-bedroom units than to cater to growing demand for bigger units, said Dan Lessor, a Mortenson development executive.

Jim Buchta