Bizarre picnic basket-shaped building is to be transformed into a luxury hotel with 150 rooms
- Seven-story building in Ohio will have an indoor pool and restaurant
- Developers promise it will remain as a basket and the hotel will open in 2020
- The building formerly belonged to the basket manufacturer, Longaberger Co
Travellers will soon be able to spend the night inside a huge picnic basket.
That’s because plans are afoot to transform a seven-story, picnic-basket-shaped building in Ohio into a luxury hotel.
It will boast 150 rooms, an indoor pool and a restaurant.
The seven-story picnic-basket-shaped building in Ohio, which will be transformed into a luxury hotel
The quirky property already has a fitness centre and an auditorium.
The building, in the city of Newark, formerly belonged to the wooden basket manufacturer, Longaberger Company.
The 180,000-square-foot construction was built in 1997 at the behest of the company’s founder Dave Longaberger for $32million (£24million).
However, the company moved out of the striking building in 2016 and it closed in 2018.
It now belongs to property developer Steve Coon and his business partner Bobby George.
The building, in the city of Newark, formerly belonged to the wooden basket manufacturer, Longaberger Company
Mr Coon has now spoken of his plans for his company, Coon Restoration & Sealants, to transform the building and open it as a hotel in 2020.
He told the Newark Advocate: ‘We looked at everything. But the best value was a hotel.
‘This will stay a basket. It’s going to be a basket forever.
‘It’s got the draw. This is a destination.’