RALEIGH - Raleigh's tallest building climbed even higher this morning when contractors attached a steel spire to the RBC Plaza at Martin and Fayetteville streets downtown.

Hardin Construction affixed the 60-foot spire to a pyramid at the top of the 33-story office and condominium tower. Counting the spire, the building now stands at 538 feet from the sidewalk.

The spire weighs 10,500 pounds, said Ed Fritsch, president and CEO of Highwoods Properties, the project's developer. Fritsch was at the controls of a crane during part of the spire's installation.

"It was great," Fritsch said. "It's not every day you get to go that high in the air and have the opportunity to do that."

Architect Cooper Carry designed the spire to "connect the building with the sky" and differentiate the RBC Plaza from other buildings downtown, Fritsch said.

The building is scheduled to open this fall. All 139 condominiums are under contract, and the office space is 65 percent pre-leased, he said.

Principal tenants are RBC Bank and the Poyner & Spruill law firm.