“Buying eyes” opened wider since Merlin Entertainment inked a deal to purchase 500 acres in Orange County five years ago.
Located in what is affectionately known by locals as “slow motion” Goshen, Merlin”™s $500 million investment in its new Legoland New York park has seen development speeding up in the county seat.
Since opening in May, buyers, brokers and bankers have been rethinking their options on the properties surrounding the mega-brick international venue; Goshen”™s open space and its proximity to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets to its east and Resorts World Catskills to its west have heightened commercial and residential interest.
Legoland New York”™s grand opening appears to have prompted one developer to change up original plans for 63 acres two miles north of Legoland”™s colorful gates.
Town of Goshen Planning Board officials had a lengthy Zoom session with Goshen Hospitality LLC. Its investors first made an appearance in 2017 with a $40 million proposal to develop 63 acres on 6 ½ Station Road. Developers originally proposed two hotels, a restaurant and a roughly 45,000-square-foot office complex for the site.
Now Goshen Hospitality is back before planners, seeking to alter its original footprint by downsizing the proposed office space by nearly 50%, adding another hotel to the two originally proposed, and including a second restaurant.
The developer also proposes adding several cottage units that would permit short-term stays for up to 30 days. Approximately 20 acres of the wetlands on-site would be dedicated to the Orange County Audubon Society, which currently stewards a significant bird and wildlife sanctuary that is accessed from 6 ½ Station Road.
Water is an issue, as are the wetlands, which make up a significant portion of the parcel. Bill Tompkins of Hydro Environmental Solutions had previously worked on the parcel for the former developer and said his company had inspected and tested three wells originally built on the property back in the 19980”™s.
“The former property owner did a pumping test that showed the wells would more than sustain the original proposal for the property,” he said. “Their actual demand exceeded what the water budget actually was ”¦ the wells are on the western part of the site, away from where the plowing and de-icing would be ”¦ that”™s a good thing.”
But adding a caveat, Tompkins said the Department of Health would ultimately have the final say on the wells”™ drinking water quality, and added that questions surrounding the runoff the wetlands would not be able to handle would need to be addressed.
Most residents calling into the meeting were concerned about the impact on traffic on Cheechunk Road, a potential bottleneck they say would not be assuaged by a traffic circle or a traffic light. Others, including urban ecology professor Jay Westervelt, who hails from the area, said he was familiar with the site because he had researched endangered species on its wetlands.
Westervelt questioned the validity of two different reports that had been submitted on the potential impact the trio of hotels ”” along with the restaurants and hundreds of parking spaces ”” would have on the bulk of the wetlands parcel.
Still another wondered what the true impact of three hotels and two restaurants would have on traffic and quality of life, with Legoland”™s entrance just a short distance away.
The public hearing was continued until town planners next meet.
The full impact of Legoland New York has not been felt by the area, but there”™s a heightened resurgence to “build it and they will come” in Orange County. Plans to convert the remaining portion of Route 17 known as “The Quickway” to Interstate 86 are again on the front burner.
