Rockland County Could Be Site Of New Legoland

SUFFERN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork)-- A proposed suburban theme park could mean a quarter-billion dollar boost to Rockland County.

Some of the last moving vans are taking equipment away from the soon-to-be empty Novartis facility in Suffern.

The Swiss drug-maker is now trying to sell the 165-acre site, but the Town of Ramapo, which owns 65 adjacent acres, is trying to make the property part of a bigger deal with a massive amusement park developer.

"We're looking to get the town in a public-private partnership to acquire the property and put our property in with it and would lease that or sell it to Legoland," supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence told CBS2's Lou Young.

Legoland, like the one in Winter Haven, Florida, is a splashy interactive theme park for families with young children. This one would be just off the New York Thruway north of the Jersey state line.

Merlin Entertainment envisions a big hotel and an amusement park, but needs more land than Novartis has to offer.

Last year, a plan to put Legoland in the Haverstraw fell through and now they're eyeing Suffern in South Rockland.

The county executive and the mayor of Suffern both said having the government financially involved makes them nervous.

"Let private industry work, let them come in and buy the property, and develop it in a responsible manner," Mayor Edward Markanus said.

Right now the property is assessed at $67 million. While that's a lot of tax revenue,  nobody wants to pay that. Potential buyers at $20 million include a Brooklyn Yeshiva and an Italian Cosmetics firm. Either one would either diminish or eliminate the tax revenue. Building Legoland in Suffern would keep the cash flowing.

Residents in the quiet community get that part, but wonder what it might cost them.

"It's mixing feelings with the community... It's a lot of traffic," Suffern resident Lana McFarlane said.

Residents will have the ample opportunity to weigh in if the deal moves forward. CBS2 was told Legoland could be up and running in 2019.

Merlin Entertainment says it's also looking at possible sites in Orange County and northern New Jersey.