Developers plan luxury hotel in basket-shaped building

Developers plan to turn the iconic, basket-shaped building in Ohio that was once headquarters for The Longaberger Company into a hotel.

One of the developers who bought the seven-story building in Newark in 2017 announced plans Monday to transform it into a luxury hotel with 150 rooms, a restaurant and an indoor pool. Officials with Ceres Enterprises, which owns and operates hotels, and with Sandvick Architects joined building co-owner Steve Coon in making the announcement.

Longaberger opened the central Ohio building in 1997. The company that successfully sold handcrafted baskets for years went out of business in 2018.

Coon says renovation work could begin by late next year.

No cost estimate was given for the renovation, but project officials say the exterior look of a basket will remain intact.