By 2019, construction at the $1-billion Metropolis development will come to close, fulfilling the complete buildout of a project that was originally pondered during the Reagan administration.

The project, which was taken over by developer Greenland USA in 2013, consists of towers ranging between 19 and 56 stories in height,featuring more than 1,500 condominiums, a 350-key Hotel Indigo and 70,000 square feet of shops and restaurants.

Its design team - which includes Gensler, Harley Ellis Devereaux and RELM Studio - imagined four modern high-rise buildings on a 6.3-acre site bounded by James M. Wood Boulevard, Francisco Street, 8th Street and the Harbor Freeway.

A construction camera, sponsored by contractors Pankow Penta and Webcor Builders, captured the entire process from start to finish.  See the eight-minute timelapse video here.