Former Longaberger Basket building to become luxury hotel

** FILE ** In this Sept. 6, 2005 file photo, the Longaberger building is seen in Newark, Ohio. Newark, a city of about 45,000 people, is filled with empty storefronts and charming old-fashioned buildings that seem stuck in the past. The Longaberger Co., based in Newark, Ohio, has laid off several hundred employees in recent years. Building materials maker Owens Corning plans to put some of the 700 workers at its Newark insulation plant on unpaid furlough. And that's just the surface of the deep well of layoffs here. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)(KIICHIRO SATO | ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Updated: Oct. 23, 2019 at 5:19 PM EDT

Add Us On GoogleAdd as a preferred source on Google

(WWBT) - The former Longaberger Basket Company building will soon be turning into a luxury hotel, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The plan is to renovate the inside of the giant basket and open it up for guests to stay in 2020.

The iconic basket in Newark, Ohio was bought back in 2017 for $1.2 million but cost $30 million when it first opened in 1997, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

Longaberger Basket Breaking News: Tonight exciting news unveiled that the iconic building will be a luxury hotel pic.twitter.com/BCETuNNjCb
— Senator Jay Hottinger (@JayHottinger) October 21, 2019

“It’s an iconic building. To be put back into use would put a tremendous asset back into the community,” Ohio state Sen. Jay Hottinger told The Columbus Dispatch.

Submit a news tip.