Basket-shaped building to become a luxury hotel

Ever envied your cat’s ability to curl up to sleep in a basket? You’re in luck.

Plans are in the works to convert a seven-story, picnic-basket-shaped building — complete with handles — into a luxury hotel.

The 1997 building, the former Longaberger Co. headquarters, is in Newark, Ohio.

Longaberger made, you guessed it, baskets, before the company moved out of the “Big Basket” a few years ago.

Developer Steve Coon of Coon Restoration & Sealants and Bobby George bought the building in 2017, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The newspaper reported Coon’s announcement Monday that the eye-catching building will be turned into a hotel, slated to open in 2020.

According to the Newark Advocate, the announcement followed public tours of the building Sunday as part of a fundraiser for Heritage Ohio, an organization dedicated to preservation and revitalization.

RoadsideAmerica.com calls it the “world’s largest basket.” According to that online collection of roadside curiosities, the building is 160 times larger than Longaberger’s Medium Market Basket.

A truly monumental replica.