These lucky guests are going to a hotel in a handbasket.
A bizarre picnic basket-shaped building in Ohio will get new life next year as a luxury hotel.
The original tenants, wooden basket manufacturer Longaberger Co., commissioned the seven-story oddity to serve as their Newark, Ohio-based headquarters. It was completed in 1997, but the company shut in 2018 — a bad year for baskets, apparently.
But when the business vacated, many in the town were left to wonder what would become of the bizarre building.
“It’s about a building that deserves the respect,” Newark’s mayor, Jeff Hall, told the Newark Advocate.
This week, he said that the site will soon serve as a 150-room luxury hotel. “A hotel is a perfect fit because it’s open to the public.”
The peculiar dwelling already boasts a fitness center, auditorium and restaurant kitchen and dining room, as well as a pond, according to Cleveland Scene. Interior images also show marble floors, wood columns, grand staircases and a skylit atrium.
Property developer Steve Coon purchased the oversized tote with business partner Bobby George in 2017 for $1.2 million, though they weren’t sure what would become of the structure at the time.
“We looked at everything, but the best value was a hotel,” said Coon, whose hotel is projected to open next year, CNN reports.
‘This will stay a basket. It’s going to be a basket forever.’
Hall says that Dave Longaberger, founder of the titular basket company who died just two years after the building was erected, would have been pleased with the transition.
“Dave Longaberger would be happy with that,” said Hall. “It’s the right people and the right property. These guys are not in the business of losing money.”
Coon also promised he wouldn’t change a thing about the unique edifice.
“The handles, that’s what makes this building special and unique,” Coon said. “This will stay a basket. It’s going to be a basket forever. It’s got the draw. This is a destination.”
He added that Longaberger’s family and friends are supportive: “His brothers and sisters all gave me a hug and a kiss. I’m sure he’s looking down on us smiling, because I feel we’re doing the right thing.”
Newark locals are also grateful to see their beloved basket find new purpose.
“Total strangers from all over thanked me for buying the building,” Coon told the Advocate. “It’s a testament to the building and the people here.”
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