Coming soon to Orange County?
GOSHEN — The Legoland company Thursday evening confirmed what MidHudsonNews.com
had reported Thursday that the company had purchased land in Goshen for
a theme park location.
In a brief e-mailed statement, the company wrote: “Merlin Entertainments
PLC has an interest in land within the Town of Goshen in Orange County,
N.Y. We would hope to bring an application to the Town Board for the re-zoning
of the land in due course, as part of our aspiration to open a third LEGOLAND
Park in North America.”
TOWN OF GOSHEN – After scoping out potential sites for a Legoland
theme park, the Lego company and its developer purchased over 300 acres
of land off Harriman Drive in the Town of Goshen, sources told MidHudsonNews.com.
The land is comprised of a number of properties, all of which have been
acquired already.
The project is expected to be the largest Legoland park in the world at a cost of over $800 million. It will be built just south of the former Arden Hill Hospital, now a BOCES facility, off Route 17.
Sources said the project is anticipated to begin in the spring 2017 and
be open by the spring 2019. When up and running, the park will employ
over 1,500 people, the sources said.
Company officials are expected to appear before the Goshen Town Board in mid-June and then present their plans to the town planning board shortly thereafter.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus, who would not comment on the information, has been lobbying the company for some six months including holding meetings with their officials on several occasions.
The Lego company began to look for another site to build their theme park after their first choice in Haverstraw was rejected by the town. At the time the plan was to build in Rockland County, the state set aside millions of dollars toward the project.
Legoland will cater to families and include a waterpark, rides, restaurants and gardens. It is expected that if built, it will provide a major boost to the Orange County and regional economies.
