Cities: Skylines Department Store Unlock Guide

Front view of Department Store Building (Cities: Skylines)
Department Store
Cost to Build ₡150,000
Upkeep ₡2,800/week
Tourism Value 125
Entertainment Value 120
Noise Pollution 75

The Department Store is a landmark unique building in Cities: Skylines. To unlock it, you need to extract 8,000 units of natural resources. You’ll also need to achieve the Worthy Village milestone, which should happen between 240 to 950 population, depending on the map.

Once you accomplish this, you’ll be able to build the department store for ₡150,000.

You can check your progress by hovering over the Department Store’s silhouette in the Landmarks tab of the Unique Buildings menu. / Cities: Skylines
You can check your progress by hovering over the Department Store’s silhouette in the Landmarks tab of the Unique Buildings menu.

The Department Store provides 120 entertainment value and produces 75 noise pollution.

Note: by default, this landmark unique building is only available on European themed maps. However, you can get this on other maps if you enable European buildings on all maps. To do that, go to Content Manager > Styles and check “European/Vanilla”.

How To Extract Natural Resources

Start by locating your natural resources on the map and choosing which spot you’d like to extract from.

The Natural Resources info view will show you which of the four types you have on your map: fertile land (for farming), forest, ore, and oil. / Cities: Skylines
The Natural Resources info view will show you which of the four types you have on your map: fertile land (for farming), forest, ore, and oil.

Once you’ve located your resources, you’ll need specialized industry buildings to extract them.

Below are two ways you can go about doing this.

 

Method #1: Specialized Zoned Industry (no DLCs)

To do this in the base game, you’ll need to create districts and apply an industrial specialization to it.

So use the Paint District tool from the Districts and Areas menu to paint over your natural resources.

Paint District tool from the Districts and Areas menu / Cities: Skylines
The Paint District tool from the Districts and Areas menu

Next, click on the Industrial Specializations tab.

Select the industry type that corresponds to the natural resource you’re building on, and click on the district to set it.

In this example, we’ve set the farming specialization on this small district painted on top of fertile land. / Cities: Skylines
In this example, we’ve set the farming specialization on this small district painted on top of fertile land.

Finally, draw industrial zoning within that district. Any industry buildings that grow there will be specialized and extract the appropriate resource.

Method #2: Ploppable Extractor Buildings (Industries DLC)

If you have the Industries DLC, the extractor buildings of your four industry area types (farm, forestry, ore, and oil) will serve this purpose as well.

You’ll find the extractor buildings by going to the Garbage and Industry menu, clicking on the tab for that specific industry, and clicking on the single gear icon. / Cities: Skylines
You’ll find the extractor buildings by going to the Garbage and Industry menu, clicking on the tab for that specific industry, and clicking on the single gear icon.

Below are the different extractor buildings for each of the four industry types:

Forestry

Building Forestry Area Level to Unlock Build Cost (₡)
Small Tree Plantation 1 4,000
Medium Tree Plantation 3 8,000
Large Tree Plantation 5 12,000
Small Tree Sapling Field 2 5,500
Large Tree Sapling Field 4 10,000

Farm (Fertile Land)

Building Farm Level to Unlock Build Cost (₡)
Small Crop Field 1 4,000
Medium Crop Field 3 8,000
Large Crop Field 5 12,000
Small Fruit Field 1 4,000
Medium Fruit Field 3 8,000
Large Fruit Field 5 12,000

Oil Industry

Building Farm Level to Unlock Build Cost (₡)
Small Oil Pump 1 8,000
Large Oil Pump 3 16,000
Small Oil Drilling Rig 2 12,000
Large Oil Drilling Rig 4 20,000
Offshore Oil Drilling Platform 5 45,000

Ore Industry

Building Farm Level to Unlock Build Cost (₡)
Small Ore Mine 1 6,500
Medium Ore Mine 3 13,000
Large Ore Mine 5 1335
Small Ore Mine Underground 2 10,000
Large Ore Mine Underground 4 18,000
Seabed Mining Vessel 3 25,000

Liz Villegas

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Liz is a writer and photographer with a love for building and strategy games. Her spare time is often split between lifting, reading, drawing, annoying her dog Mr. Porky Butt, and squinting at stat tables on the wiki pages of whatever game she's currently playing.

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