The City of Mason has installed a live camera at the East Downtown Parking Lot construction site. The camera captures new footage every hour, giving residents a real-time look at the city's first Mason Mile project.

The city announced the camera on X on Monday, Oct. 26, with a link to the feed and a photo of the site.

The parking lot is the first physical construction project in the broader Mason Mile downtown revitalization effort. Crews broke ground on the lot Oct. 15 on city-owned land behind The Mason Grill, as WLWT reported. The project will replace an existing lot with a larger one adding about 130 spaces, according to WCPO.

Plans call for new sidewalks, landscaping, bike parking, stormwater improvements and a wider entrance from Mason-Montgomery Road. Former Mason City Council member Mark Haake told WLWT the space will also serve as an event venue where the city can set up portable stages and host food truck rallies.

The construction schedule calls for the first layer of asphalt by the end of 2026. Work will continue in spring 2027, with the lot expected to be substantially complete by next summer, according to WLWT.

The Mason Mile initiative covers the downtown corridor along Main Street and Reading Road, roughly from Heritage Oak Park to Tylersville Road. The master plan and supporting zoning were adopted in 2025. In August 2026, the city approved funding for a traffic study, streetscape design and a parking management strategy, according to MADE CDC, the community development organization partnering with the city. The city has committed $3.5 million to MADE CDC over five years to support revitalization, WCPO reported in September.

Downtown business owners have pushed for the project for years. Mark Lortz, owner of Common Beer Company on East Main Street, has operated his brewery for eight years while downtown redevelopment plans remained on hold, WCPO reported.

"It's what Mason really has been missing for the last 20, 30 years," Lortz told WLWT in coverage published Oct. 15.

Todd Hudson, owner of Wildflower Cafe, told WLWT that customers want the kind of shopping and dining experience they find in places like Loveland and Madeira, closer to home. Hudson opened his doors in downtown Mason nearly 20 years ago.

The live camera feed is available through the city's X account, @imaginemason.