Legoland receives local approval for limited early opening

Legoland, the $500 million project on a 523-acre parcel off Route 17 on Orange County”™s Town of Goshen, has been given approval by the Goshen Planning Board for limited early-opening events. Only members of the public who have been invited will be allowed to attend.

Brick Street at Legoland, under construction.

The approval for issuing phased certificates of occupancy was granted at a special meeting of the board held the evening of Nov. 11.

“In an effort to thank some loyal fans for their support during these challenging and unprecedented times, we have been exploring the possibility of holding an invitation-only event to give them a sneak peek at a small portion of Legoland New York Resort,” Legoland spokesman Matt Besterman told the Business Journal.

Besterman said, however, that no events could be held at the site while state Covid-19 restrictions were in place, preventing large crowds from gathering and amusement parks from operating.

“We have reached out to New York State”™s Mid-Hudson regional team for guidance and consideration of this request. Given the realities of the Covid-19 pandemic, further approval would be required by New York state. At this time, an event in the immediate future would not be permitted but we are open to the possibility when the time is right,” Besterman said.

Legoland is owned by British-based Merlin Entertainments, which operates more than 130 entertainment sites, 19 hotels and six holiday villages in 25 countries across four continents. Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Merlin estimated that it hosted 67 million people a year.

Merlin had said the Legoland New York Resort could attract 10,000 to 20,000 daily visitors during peak season and create 500 full-time jobs and 800 part-time jobs once it opens.

Besterman said that the park still is on track for a 2021 opening, and the company hopes to be able to announce a specific opening date soon.

“Our main buildings are all up, including our 250-room hotel, which will open in 2021 as well,” he said. “We”™re in the midst of installing our 50 rides and attractions, as well as our 15,000 Lego models.

“Just recently we began installing a section of the park called Miniland, which will feature a number of animated, Lego-built cities, including New York of course,” Besterman continued. “We are also on track to create nearly 1,000 jobs in our theme park and hotel by the time we open.”

Besterman said Legoland has robust protocols in place on the site to prevent the spread of Covid-19, including facial coverings, temperature checks, enhanced cleaning regimens, and social distancing.

“When we open, we will follow all federal, state and local health and safety guidelines. Like other Merlin Entertainments attractions around the world, we have a wealth of best practices to draw on to keep our guests safe,” he said.

Besterman noted that with Covid-19 affecting schooling and normal recreational activities, Legoland New York has been reaching out virtually.

“Last week, for example, we held a remote Master Model Builder class for a group of sixth-grade students in Queens, and we”™ll be scheduling more in the next few months as we work toward our opening in 2021,” Besterman said.

Attorney Dominic Cordisco of the New Windsor law firm DrakeLoeb PLLC told the planning board: “A phased opening of Legoland New York Resort would allow limited activities to invited members of the public to experience certain elements of the park prior to its grand opening.

“Daily attendance would be limited and based in part on available parking capacity,” Cordisco added. “At the outset, attendance would be limited to no more than 1,400 attendees, which correlates to available parking in Parking Lot B.”

Cordisco said that events would not occur until the local building inspector has issued temporary certificates of occupancy for each building that would be opened to the public, and that there would be no access to construction areas, which would be secured.

A drawing submitted by the Goshen engineering and surveying firm Lanc & Tully showed the site facilities that would be used for the early opening events. It contained notes that said, in part: “The infrastructure required for the phased early opening including off-site highway improvements on New York State Route 17 shall be substantially completed prior to any hosted public event(s)” and “Main facility guest entrance road open to invited public guests. No admittance without invitation.”

Attractions initially to be utilized for the early opening events would include: