Virtual tour for municipalities and cities: municipal buildings in 3D
Your new building, open to residents even before the inauguration.
For a municipality, a 3D virtual tour starts at $395 per building under 1,500 sq. ft. (town hall, library, garage) and $1,295 for about 10,000 sq. ft., scanned in half a day. Written quote before the council meeting, tour online within 24 to 48 hours in most cases, service in French across Quebec. More than 1,000 Google Maps tours since 2015. Phone: 514 262-9248.
- Written quote before the council meeting
- Tour online within 24 to 48 hours
- Over 1,000 tours published on Google Maps since 2015
- Service in French across Quebec
They trust us
A public building is also a place worth explaining.
A municipal building virtual tour serves two audiences. Residents step into a place they paid for, with information tags explaining what goes on there. The administration gets a dated 3D model, with floor plan and measurements, to attach to a call for tenders, a work file or an insurance claim.
01
An open house that never closes
The tour opens in a browser, with no app, on the City’s website, in the newsletter and on social media.
02
A building file ready to share
The model can be measured (±20 mm at 10 m, according to Matterport) and attached to a call for tenders: bidders tour from a distance.
03
Suited to public procurement
Written quote before the council meeting, invoice adapted to public bodies, ownership of the delivered files by the municipality.
04
Sensitive buildings stay protected
Water plants, substations, technical rooms: password access, hidden areas, blurred faces and licence plates.
A real tour to explore
Step inside Atelier 25 in Candiac.
The public works building of the Ville de Candiac, branded in the City’s colours: 76 information tags, a six-section menu and three aerial drone views, produced with the Communications Department. Click to launch the tour.
What a municipality does with it.
Inaugurate and showcase a new building
Library, arena, community centre, municipal garage: residents tour before, during and after the inauguration.
Document the building portfolio
A dated 3D model of each building, with floor plan and measurements, for calls for tenders, work and insurance.
Pre-construction condition survey before infrastructure work
Before rebuilding a street or a water main, the condition of neighbouring buildings is captured and dated.
Emergency response plans and training
Exits, valves and panels marked in the tour; crews and first responders prepare from a distance.
Google Street View mapping of roads
Municipal roads, trails, parks and bike paths captured continuously and published on Google Maps.
Room rentals and tourism promotion
Community hall, park chalet, gymnasium: organizations tour before booking. Attractions are discovered on Google.
You stay in control
The Communications Department stays in control.
On request, your team receives access to the Matterport editor for the tour: it adds its information tags, corrects a caption or announces a new schedule, without coming back to us or going on site. One-hour training by videoconference included.
- Add or edit information tags: text, photos, videos, PDFs and links
- Name rooms and place labels
- Prepare highlights for a guided tour
- Editor access: $150 per year
How it works
From the first call to going live.
- 1
A 30-minute call, a written quote
We set the floor area, the buildings and the options. The quote is ready for the council meeting; the capture follows the resolution.
- 2
The on-site capture
With the Matterport Pro3 camera, without closing the building. In the evening or on Saturday morning if needed.
- 3
Processing and going online
Online 24 to 48 hours after the capture, faces and licence plates blurred, sensitive areas hidden. Branding and information tags a few days later.
- 4
Delivery and training
Permanent link, embed code for the City’s website, 2D floor plan, invoice adapted to public bodies, then one-hour training.
Public pricing
Pricing based on the building’s floor area.
The price depends on the floor area scanned. It includes the capture, the 3D tour, the 2D schematic plan and one year of hosting.
From$395
| Under 1,500 sq. ft. | $395 |
|---|---|
| 1,501 to 2,500 sq. ft. | $495 |
| 2,501 to 3,500 sq. ft. | $595 |
| 3,501 to 4,500 sq. ft. | $695 |
| 4,501 to 5,500 sq. ft. | $795 |
| 5,501 to 6,500 sq. ft. | $895 |
| 6,501 to 7,500 sq. ft. | $995 |
| 7,501 to 8,500 sq. ft. | $1,095 |
| 8,501 to 9,500 sq. ft. | $1,195 |
| 9,501 to 10,500 sq. ft. | $1,295 |
| Large buildings, building portfolios, multiple sites | Quote within 24 hours |
| Standard branding: menu in the City’s colours | $100 to $250 |
|---|---|
| Custom branding | $500 to $650 |
| 360 aerial views by drone | $450 to $495 |
| Publication on Google Maps (Street View)Buildings open to the public | +$100 |
| Editor access for your team | $150/year |
| Hosting after the first year | from $150/year |
- Prices in Canadian dollars, taxes extra.
- Street View mapping of roads: $75/km by vehicle, $2,000 minimum per project. Large buildings and building portfolios: quote within 24 hours.
- Travel fee of $0.73/km beyond about 100 km from Montreal; municipalities in the same RCM can share this fee on one route.
Good to know: sensitive buildings and measurement accuracy
For water plants, substations and other sensitive facilities, the tour is not published: password access, hidden areas, and you choose what remains visible. The Pro3 is accurate to ±20 mm at 10 m, according to Matterport: enough for planning, but it is not a land survey.
Virtual tour for municipalities: the example of Atelier 25 in Candiac
When the Ville de Candiac opened Atelier 25, its new public works building, it wanted residents to understand what had been built, not only to see the façade. With the Communications Department, we scanned the building in 3D, then branded it in the City’s colours: a menu in six sections (including Exterior, Innovations and sustainable development, Administration and Workshops), 76 information tags and three aerial drone views.
Visitors choose a section, move from room to room and click on what they see: a tag explains the equipment, the design choice or the department housed there. Nothing to download; a link on the City’s website is enough. That is the difference between a municipal building virtual tour and a photo gallery: the information is where it applies.
The same principle applies to everything a city inaugurates. A town hall virtual tour points residents to the permits counter and the council chamber; an arena virtual tour shows the locker rooms and the stands to sports associations; a library virtual tour lets families who missed the opening discover the new spaces.
Internal uses: document, plan, train
Once online, the tour is not only for communications. The same 3D model becomes a tool for general management, public works and public safety.
- Calls for tenders and insurance. Attach the tour to the specifications: bidders measure and tour from a distance. The same dated record serves the insurance file. For drawings and technical files, see 3D building scanning.
- Pre-construction condition survey before infrastructure work. Before rebuilding a street or a water main, the condition of neighbouring buildings is captured and dated: if a crack is reported after the work, proof of the prior condition exists.
- Emergency response and training. Exits, valves, electrical panels and assembly points are marked in the tour. According to a case study published by Matterport, the American provider Digital Twin Imaging scanned more than 60 public buildings for emergency preparedness, and the time first responders took to find a room went from more than 7 minutes to under 30 seconds. Matterport also cites Northfield Public Schools, which monitors its construction sites with the same models and presents its new buildings to residents: the approach we apply to schools and construction projects alike.
For sensitive buildings (drinking water plant, wastewater treatment plant, substation), the tour is not published: password, hidden areas, and the municipality decides who has access.
Google Street View for your municipality
Google’s car mostly covers the main roads. Rural roads, lake roads, trails, parks and bike paths are often missing from Street View. We capture them continuously, by vehicle, on foot or by bike, then publish the images on Google Maps, blurred and geolocated. For a municipality in the Outaouais, the 42.5 km of municipal roads were captured in a single day. The price depends on the kilometres covered: see the Google Street View mapping service.
Why trust Panosphere 360 with your project
We have scanned buildings for cities, for the Ministère des Transports and for Quebec public bodies: Atelier 25 in Candiac, the drinking water production plant in Gatineau, the Centre de gestion de l’équipement roulant in Laval, the wastewater treatment plant in Vaudreuil-Dorion, service areas and rest areas.
- A single person in charge, from the quote to training: Marc Durand Bréard, 360 photographer since 2015 and certified drone pilot.
- Over 1,000 tours published on Google Maps since 2015, for municipalities, institutions, businesses and stores.
- Matterport Service Partner, equipped with the Pro3 camera.
- Suited to public procurement: public prices, written quote ready for council, invoice adapted to public bodies, files delivered to the municipality.
- Service in French across Quebec, on regional routes where municipalities in the same RCM share travel costs.
Send us the list of your buildings or the name of your municipality: you receive a written quote, ready for council. Request a quote, check our prices or our portfolio. For a tour with a menu and information tags, see the enhanced virtual tour.
Frequently asked questions
Your questions, our answers.
Another question? Write to marc@panosphere360.com or call 514 262-9248.
Do we need a council resolution before ordering?
Often, yes, depending on the amount and your procurement rules. We provide a written quote, accessible by link, to attach to the council meeting file; the capture is scheduled after the resolution.
How many buildings can be scanned in one day?
According to Matterport, allow 1 to 3 hours for 1,000 to 4,000 sq. ft. Several small buildings (park chalet, fire station, neighbourhood library) can therefore be captured the same day; an arena can take a full day.
Who owns the files?
The municipality: the photos, the floor plan and the delivered files belong to you. The tour is hosted in our Matterport account, one year included, then renewed from $150 per year or transferred to a City account, at the same address.
How do you protect sensitive buildings?
The tour can be password-protected and restricted to staff. Areas that should not be shown are hidden; faces, licence plates and documents are blurred. Nothing is published without your approval.
Can the tour go on the City’s website and on Google?
Yes. You receive a permanent link and an embed code for the City’s website. For buildings open to the public (library, arena, town hall), the tour can also be published on Google Maps, for $100 more.
Can City staff edit the tour?
Yes. With editor access ($150 per year), the Communications Department adds its own information tags, corrects a caption or replaces a photo, the same day. One-hour training is included.
Can several municipalities in the same RCM be grouped together?
Yes, it is the most economical way to proceed in the regions. Beyond about 100 km from Montreal, a fee of $0.73/km is added; municipalities captured on the same route share it, each with its own quote and its own invoice.
When should the municipality’s roads be captured for Google Street View?
In dry weather, from spring until the end of October. By vehicle, about 42.5 km of municipal roads can be captured in one day. The images are blurred, geolocated and published on Google Maps; the price depends on the kilometres covered.
What is the turnaround time?
The 3D tour is online 24 to 48 hours after the capture in most cases. Large buildings and big projects can take several days. Branding, information tags and drone views are added afterwards, within a few days depending on the amount of content. For an inauguration, plan the capture as soon as the building is finished and cleaned.
How much does a virtual tour of a municipal building cost?
From $395 for under 1,500 sq. ft., 2D floor plan and one year of hosting included, then $100 per additional 1,000 sq. ft., up to $1,295 for 10,500 sq. ft. Beyond that, and for a complete building portfolio, quote within 24 hours.
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Let’s talk about your project.
A 30-minute call is enough to settle the area, the deliverables and the price. Written quote within 24 hours, large buildings included.