SimCity 4/Reward Buildings

Reward buildings are buildings which are not available by default, but which need to be earned beforehand. While there are also non-reward buildings which need to be unlocked, no reward buildings are available in the beginning of the game.

The reward buildings can be classified within two groups:

Business Deals
Business Deals will not by default appear in the list. They are only available if you're rapidly losing money and going deep into debt.

In short, it is not recommended to build them. While they do get you some money, they have adverse side effects which can ruin the city, not to mention they reduce the Mayor Rating. On top of that, they cost tons to demolish once you want them gone.

Casino
The Casino can only be built if Legalize Gambling is enacted, otherwise it won't be available. The side effect is that it acts as a huge magnet to crime, on top of the crime increase caused by the Legalize Gambling ordinance. While it does increase commercial desirability around it, the crime mostly negates the effect.

Federal Prison
The Federal Prison should be kept away from residental areas as it has a tremendous effect on residental (as well as commercial) desirability. However, it does act as a larger jail in case you need the capacity.

Missile Range
The Missile Range easily provides the most income of all the business deals. However, there's a chance of a misfire, which can hit your city and destroy several buildings if you're unlucky. This makes it a quite risky business deal to utilize.

Toxic Waste Dump
The Toxic Waste Dump generates huge amounts of pollution, including radiation, which means it cannot be built anywhere near civilization since Sims abhor radiation. It does provide quite some income, though.

Army Base
The Army Base is another producer of radiation (even if not much). However it does have a slight positive effect on commercial desirability and, interestingly, increases the industrial manufacturing demand cap. It may be the most worthwhile out of all the business deals.

Rewards
These have mostly positive effects when built. While some cost a lot to maintain, others are free and therefore highly recommended to build.

Mayor's House
The Mayor's House acts as a large park in that it tremendously increases desirability for both residental and commercial population around it. It also has a slight positive effect on the Mayor Rating.

House of Worship 1
The House of Worship has a positive effect on residental population, so build it where your people live. Every single one of them also raises the middle-wealth residental demand cap.

Cemetery 1
The cemetery's main purpose is removing air pollution. As it's free as well, there's no reason to not build it.

Mayor's Statue
Even though this has a slight positive effect on its surroundings, the main reason for this reward is decoration.

Farmer's Market
Even if you don't plan to get farms, you should at the very least try to get this reward. It provides a nice health boost to your residents and on top of that raises the residental demand cap tremendously.

House of Worship 2
Simply another House of Worship for you to build, with the same effect.

Impressive Mayor's Statue
Another Mayor's Statue for you to build in your city.

Country Club
The Country Club, besides acting as a supersized park, raises the high-wealth residental demand cap.

State Fair
The State Fair doesn't have too many good things about it. It raises commercial desirability, but that's it already, because it is a huge crime magnet, which pretty much negates the aforementioned effect.

University
The University is a great help to any educational system, however it is extremely expensive so you will not be likely to be able to afford one until late in the game.

Major Art Museum
The Major Art Museum provides a great boost to education especially for older Sims, however it is very expensive to maintain.

Radio Station
The Radio Station's main purpose is to raise the demand cap. It slightly raises commercial desirability around it as well.

Cemetery 2
Another cemetery for you to build.

Minor League Stadium
The Minor League Stadium is a huge relief for the demand cap. However, people don't like to live next to it, so build it in your commercial areas if possible.

Main Library
The Main Library is the average people's counterpart to the Major Art Museum. It's cheaper and probably more worthwhile to get (but still rather expensive).

House of Worship 3
Another House of Worship for you to build.

Magnificent Mayor's Statue
Another Mayor's Statue for you to build.

Disease Research Center
This building is mainly a boost to health. It will never get very many patients so the capacity cost is negligible. However, it generates radiation so watch out.

You can gain availability to this by completing the “Slipped on Llama Dung” U-Drive challenge using an ambulance. To drive an ambulance, you need a hospital in your city which is available from the beginning.

Opera House
The Opera House is not a good building to build. Not only is its maintenance cost rather high, but due to a bug, it will actually reduce education in large cities due to overcrowding, so you should generally avoid it.

The alternate way of getting this reward is to build a small landing strip type of airport and successfully do a taxi cab u-drive it mission.

Tourist Trap
The Tourist Trap helps with commercial desirability and also raises the residental demand cap.

Convention Center
The Convention Center is great to build in commercial districts. It also helps with the commercial office demand cap.

If you're not able to reach the requirements for this reward, there is an alternate way of being rewarded by the convention center because this is one of the reward buildings that can be awarded to you if you build a bus transportation system. If you have a bus transportation system and you successfully complete the sick bus driver mission, then you get this as a gift.

Television Studio
This one's similar to the Radio Station in effect. However, do not build it in your residental areas as people do not like to live next to one.


 * Can also be unlocked with the Deluxe Police Station helicopter task to keep the spotlight on the crook using the ghetto bird

Cemetery 3
Another cemetery for you to build.

City Zoo
The City Zoo greatly raises the demand cap.

City Hall
This reward will automatically dispatch fire engines if a fire occurs in a fire station's radius. It also has a slight positive effect on commercial areas.

Resort Hotel
The Resort Hotel provides some jobs and helps with the residental demand cap.

Courthouse
The courthouse has largely a similar effect to the City Hall, except that it contributes to crime fighting.

Bureau of Bureaucracy
Same here. Especially the requirement of a fully funded health and education system, which creates extreme additional costs, makes this not at all worthwhile to pursue.

Major League Stadium
This is basically a beefed up version of the Minor League Stadium. However, it is quite expensive. Again, keep it away from residental areas.

Movie Studio
The movie studio doesn't have much of an effect, but since it's free, there is no reason to not build it.

House of Worship 4
Another House of Worship for you to build.

Colossal Mayor's Statue
The last statue of yours for your city.

Stock Exchange
As its name would suggest, this building is excellent for your commercial areas.

Advanced Research Center
This mostly raises the high-tech industrial demand cap. It too generates radiation, so be careful about where to place it.