When it opens next month, it will be completely smoke-free — not only in hallways and lobbies, but also within the walls of the tenants' residences. The complex, which burned during construction last year after being struck by lightning, is more than 50% leased with a month of construction still ahead.

Gateway Real Estate L.L.C developed the $11.5-million project. The project includes about one-fifth affordable apartments.

As cities throughout the metropolitan area weigh smoking bans in bars and restaurants, the Association for Nonsmokers-Minnesota is making the rounds to landlords promoting the idea for apartment buildings. Anti-smoking advocates have created a Web registry of smoke-free complexes, www.smokefreeapartments.org, in cities across the country, including Minneapolis. For instance, the board of the 38-unit Produce Exchange building in Downtown St. Paul, managed by Halverson and Blaiser Group Ltd., is considering a ban.