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I'm thinking of a houserule for the largest (and most costly) buildings that will allow the players to buy them in stages. I've divided them up into four stages, or levels, that these buildings take as they are improved and upgraded. Some have a fifth stage that would add to the benefits of the building beyond what's listed in the Kingmaker rules.
They can only be upgraded once a year. This, to me, eliminates the "overnight" construction of a large, elaborate structure and its attendant structures that fill up the city blocks. The first stage follows the rule of placing buildings just like normal, and the rest of the stages follow the rule of replacing buildings, like the tenement to house upgrade.
For example: the players want a castle right away for their capital city. They can't obviously afford the 54 BPs that it'll cost. Under these rules, they first buy a Keep (level 1) for 15 BPs and get some of its benefits. Then, sometime later (as long as a year has passed), they upgrade their Keep to a Fort (level 2) for 13 BPs. In another year, they can continue upgrading it to a Fortress (level 3), then a Castle (level 4) the year after that. Then, as a "capstone", so to speak, they can make it a Citadel (level 5) and get even greater bonuses for their grand and prestigious home. Essentially, the players took four to five years (minimum) to build their Citadel, though they got to benefit from it as it is built.
These are the buildings that cry out for stages, as I see them:
Academy: (12 BPs per stage); School (level 1), Academy (2), College (3), University (4)
Arena: (10 BPs per stage); Pit (level 1), Amphitheatre (2) Arena (3), Stadium (4), Colosseum (5)
Cathedral: (16 BPs for level 1, 14 BPs per upgrade); Abbey (level 1), Church (2), Temple (3), Cathedral (4)
Castle: (15 BPs for level 1, 13 BPs per upgrade); Keep (level 1), Fort (2), Bastion (3), Castle (4), Citadel (5)
Waterfront: (24 BPs for level 1, 22 BPs per upgrade); Pier (level 1), Wharf (2), Docks (3), Waterfront (4)
Noble Villa: (8 BPs per stage); Chateau (level 1), Estate (2), Manor (3), Mansion (4), Palace (5)
Market: (12 BPs per stage); Shop (level 1), Market (2), Bazaar (3), Exchange (4)
Black Market (14 BPs for level 1, 12 BPs per upgrade); Fence (level 1), Informant (2), Black Market (3), Underworld (4)
The benefits to the kingdom each of these buildings and their upgrades would need to be divided up amongst the different stages, which is a step I haven't taken yet. Furthermore, I haven't made any calls about what the "capstone" levels should be for those buildings that reach Level 5. I'm just throwing this out there to see if anyone likes the idea. Feel free to shamelessly steal this and apply it to your own campaigns! Let me know how it works. And, if you improve on it, let me know that, too!