NEW YORK CITY—Gulliver's Gate, dubbed as a "miniature world attraction," has signed a lease for 49,000 square feet of space at the former New York Times building at 216 W. 44th St.

The Kushner Cos. recently acquired the retail condominium at the history property for $296 million. Gulliver's Gate, which expects to open its doors in April 2017, will feature more than 300 built-to-scale models of scenes from such diverse places in the universe as: Manhattan, the Panama Canal, Antarctica, Rome, Jerusalem and Mars. Gulliver's Gate will have a football field-sized train set layout with more than 1,000 trains, planes that have the capability to take off and land, cars, boats, ships and spacecraft.

Investors in the $30-million project include Irving Langer and Michael Langer of the Brooklyn-based E&M Associates. Gulliver's Gate anticipates it will attract more than 1 million visitors each year. The admission cost is expected to be $30 for adults, with discounts for seniors and children.

"Kushner Companies is thrilled to welcome this small world into our big city, where local families and visiting tourists can learn while enjoying the latest technological advances in experiential entertainment," says Jared Kushner, CEO of Kushner Companies.

Eiran Gazit, co-founder and CEO of Gulliver's Gate, says the project's inspiration comes from the "Miniatur Wunderland" model railway attraction in Hamburg, Germany, which draws the same amount of tourists Gulliver's Gate is hoping will visit its New York City property. "This will be unlike any other mini attraction in the world, thanks to the state-of-the-art technology and the truly remarkable design we are creating in the tourist capital of the world," he says.

Gazit also is the founder and former CEO of Mini Israel, which features replicas of hundreds of buildings and landmarks throughout the Holy Land. Gulliver's Gate is being designed by the Hettema Group, which is known for its experiential entertainment projects, including the recently opened One World Observatory at the World Trade Center.