Public works project

A public works project is a structure in that can be built in the player's town by the mayor. Projects include structures such as decorations, bridges, benches, signs, and buildings.

Public works projects are similar to objects in. In and, public works projects are replaced by the ability to place furniture items outside, and some of the projects from  are turned into furniture items.

Building a public works project
Once the mayor receives the development permit, they can view a list of unlocked public works projects at the desk at town hall. Once a project is chosen, the player chooses a location in the town to build it, and a plot is set down containing Lloid, who accepts donations to build the project. The town's villagers donate small amounts each day. Once the donation goal has been met, the project will be built the next day and a completion ceremony can be held.

Only one public works project can be built at a time, and a maximum of 30 projects can be built. Exceptions to the 30-project limit include the café, police station, Reset Surveillance Center, any projects on Main Street, and any town hall or train station renovations.

Completion ceremony
When a public works project is built, the next time the mayor sits at their desk at town hall, Isabelle asks them if they want to attend a completion ceremony. If they accept, the player, Isabelle, and a few villagers will attend the ceremony at the location of the project. Isabelle will congratulate those who donated to the project, and the mayor will be prompted to deliver of three responses: "We did it!", "Hooray for everyone!", or "On to the next project!". The attendees then pull out and use party poppers. After the ceremony, Isabelle returns to town hall while the villagers and player stay at the ceremony site.

For some major projects, special characters pertaining to them appear at the ceremony. For example, Celeste attends the ceremony for the museum renovation.

Demolition
Once a project is built, it can be demolished for 10% of its build cost. The demolition takes one day, during which the mayor cannot initiate any more projects. Some projects, such as the café and the campsite, cannot be demolished.

Unlocking public works projects
There are 13 public works projects available by default; the rest must be unlocked. The most common unlock method is from villagers, who can go up to the player and suggest a project. Some projects can only be suggested by certain personality types, while some can be suggested by any villager. Other projects are unlocked after the player completes specific conditions.

Major projects
The following projects cannot be demolished, and only one of each can be built.

Trivia

 * If the player listens in on a conversation between two cranky villagers, one may claim to have made a public works project suggestion to Isabelle for a drive-in theater. According to the villager, it did not pass because Isabelle did not understand what a "drive-in" was.
 * The ceremonies that trigger when completing projects such as the school in resemble public works project completion ceremonies.