Downtown’s first high-end apartment community in five years is about to welcome its first tenants in the latest barometer of demand for urban living in a city more accustomed to the suburban lifestyle.

The Cue at the northeast corner of Q and 18th streets, its 49 units 30 percent pre-leased amid mildly unfortunate timing, is the second project by a local developer that continues to transform a part of town where it has already made a decidedly modern mark.