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Longaberger’s Big Basket building may become hotel

The Big Basket, the former Longaberger basket headquarters, is shown in September 2016 in Newark, Ohio/ (Photo Provided/Google Street View)

NEWARK, Ohio (AP/WISH) — The former headquarters of Longaberger baskets could soon become a luxury hotel, according to an announcement Monday night to a group devoted to Ohio historic building preservation and revitalization.

The building near Newark, known as the Big Basket, is a seven-story replica of the company’s medium market basket.

The Big Basket has been vacant since 2016. Heritage Ohio board member Steve Coon bought the building in 2017 and is working toward having it added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Coon said logistics remain to be worked out with the city and the state, but the plan is to turn the building into a hotel, WBNS reported Monday.

The building was open for tours Sunday in a fundraiser for Heritage Ohio to invest in the rehabilitation of Ohio’s rural downtowns.