My quick choices:

Remove: hospice, office, small warehouse, university
Add: aquaduct, guesthouse, trading post, library

Leave the large buildings alone (the expansion ones aren't worth it).

Perhaps also exchange hospice for black market (although that reduces the game a bit because the black market is the analogue of the construction hut). The reason to do this is to provide another cheap money source in the first column.

Reasons:

Hospice isn't very good because Settler phase buildings need to be dirt cheap and/or produce money to be really useful (they need to be bought early and not impact money development), and the university just too expensive for what it does... the guesthouse is similar to both and is flexible enough to be useful if picked up midgame. As for the library... it's not a great building, but it's better than the university while not being a bad/broken as other buildings in the expansion.

The trading post covers the utility of the office nicely, as well as allowing for additional tactical uses (ie you can sell a good in a way that doesn't clear the trading house allowing for a potentially lucrative double trader). The office can easily become a tactical mistake.

Finally, the final two: aqua duct/small warehouse. This does leave the first column 1/1/2/2, which is fine by me. As for kicking the small warehouse... the first column shouldn't contain captain phase buildings at all (those are mid to late game things that people can afford to dish a bit more cash for). Leaving the large warehouse is just one option to help keep most of the price structure the same (and with the small warehouse gone it starts looking a lot better since it becomes the cheap solution to protect goods). The small warehouse could be increased in value and added to the second column to replace the large warehouse (but at a value of 4 or 5, since if you want it to be worth 6 you might as well just leave the large... which is why I did (not wanting to shake the prices)). The aquaduct is just a sweet little building that makes indigo and sugar a bit more interesting, which I consider a good thing.

fubar awol (#47948),
We almost always play with the library instead of the university because the U is never bought in our games but some like the L!
Also I would use a trading post instead of the office in a 5 player game to even the odds a bit when playing with inexperienced players. Office is not bought very often in our games and in 5 player trading post is actually a very, very good.
I also like the black market but I think it should have had a liilte bigger pricetag on it. It is even more populair than small market...
aquaduct is also very good and will make it once in a while.
Lexen

lexen (#48008),

Aqueduct
Hacienda
Black Market
Storehouse
Guesthouse
Trading Post
Church
Small Wharf
Factory
Harbor
Speciality Factory
Wharf
Guild Hall
Customs House
Residence
City Hall
Fortress

I think the key decisions are all in:
a) staying far away from the forest house/hacienda combo
b) the Factory through Wharf track: I feel like the choices I have could easily change, but having Speciality Factory and Wharf with Aqueduct versus Factory/Harbor on the other side as interesting. I also think this setup will not have a whole lot of craftsman fear, which is I think, an interesting change of pace.

Aqueduct and small market are very different from each other. Aqueduct is interesting in that its not an 'auto-build on turn 1' like small market is. It makes lagre indigo and sugar mills decent. But I kindof like small market in the game too.

I personally think that Black market really screws up the game, and in fact, it is WAY more beneficial to corn positions than indigo, and corn positions didnt need more help. It makes player 3 even better than before. I'd stick to haci and con hut.

I think small warehouse is better to have than storehouse. There are other buildings (factory, harbor) that already favor diverse goods. Small warehouse favors specialization, I think that should be a valid part of the game (its already weaker, dont weaken it more).

Guesthouse is much better than hospice, as is trading post much better than office. Church is pretty broken, imo, and I would go with large market and trading post. (Possible with the modification to trading post that if the trading house is unempty, and you use it, a good still goes on the house. That way you cant lock the house for people without trading post, yet trade yourself).
Small wharf is a much better choice to have than large warehouse. Its very balanced and adds to the game.

Factory is much more balanced than lighthouse. I love lighthouse, but its a bit broken. It would be better at 8, replacing the university. Neither of the new 8 cost builsings are any good, but at least library is significantly better than university. I'd put in whichever of library or spec. factory someone in your group would actually use.
Wharf is far more balanced than union hall. UHall is broken.
I'd go with all the basic larges.

Note that my suggestions are for trying to make the most balanced and interesting game possible...

I like the idea of the statue, except for the obvious endgame problem it causes.

What about this version:
Statue
10 cost
9 points
Requires one building space

The extra point makes it comparable to a typical "second choice" big building, but the size means it can no longer be used to end the game.

Another idea I have toyed with is playing with a dynamic building set:

1) Use *all* the buildings.
2) When buying a violet building, the player also remove a building with the same cost but different name from the pool.
3) When purchasing a 10 cost building, rule (2) only applies to the first two purchased in the game.

This theoretically allows lg mkt, office, t-post, and church all in the same game.


What about this change to the Unionhall:
Player receives 1vp + 1db for every 3 barrels (type restriction removed)

paeanblack (#49458),

This is a building from one of my expansion sets:

PRINTING PRESS
10
4
End Game
+5 VP

which is what you meant, I assume. Works fine.

Yehuda

Does your Printing Press take one or two building spots? Does it require a colonist for the +5?

paeanblack (#49521),

Like any other big building. Two building spaces, one colonist.

Yehuda

The statue I recommended is half that size and needs no colonist.

paeanblack (#49458),

The statue I think might work well would be something like:

5 cost, 4 points. (Like the San Juan ones). SMall building, two of em available...

It doesnt break the end at all either...

Alexfrog (#49759),

And that one is similar to another one of mine, except I made it 2 cost/4 points.

Yehuda

Alexfrog (#49759),

Which quarry discount column?