I'm working on Archapolis, a city builder game. I have been considering the feature you are desiring. The problem to solve is giving the player something to do while the buildings are being constructed.
One way I have potentially solved this issue is by giving players the ability to design their own buildings in game. The player will see only the interior of the building, so I dont have to worry about making buildings look good (that's up to the player).
I dont have a video featuring this yet, but if you want to see what I've got so far, I've got a path finding tech demo here: