Legoland owner buys closed Harley dealership

LAKE WALES — Merlin Entertainments Group, the European company behind Legoland Florida, purchased the real estate of a former Harley Davidson dealership in Lake Wales for $1.4 million.

The price equated to $46 per square foot.

The 6.94-acre site on North U.S. Highway 27, south of State Road 60, contains a 30,458-square-foot building. It was built in 2006.

Merlin Entertainments acquired it to serve as the creative home for its local team of Lego Model Builders and Lego Model Designers. The firm plans to have more than 40 builders who assemble the Lego sculptures and seven designers to form Lego creations for its Legoland Resorts and Legoland Discovery Centers. The property will not be open to the public. A hotel on the property opened earlier this year.