Newark’s favorite basket is for sale.
A Shair Hess Commercial Real Estate listing shows the famous Longaberger basket building at 1500 E. Main St., is on the market for $8.5 million. Built in 1997, the structure is 180,000 square feet and is one of Newark’s most recognizable buildings.
The basket is in Newark, near Ohio State University’s Newark campus and commuters can easily see it from State Route 16. It served as the former headquarters of the Longaberger Company before the remaining employees left in July 2016. The company stopped operating in 2018.
According to the sale listing, the property is situated on 21.5 acres, and the building has the capacity for more than 500 employees. The property also features more than 550 available parking spaces, a media room, a workout facility, and 25 underground parking slots for executives.
“This iconic building is highly visible from SR-16, offering a standout location at 1500 E. Main St. in the heart of Licking County. Conveniently positioned in Newark, near The Ohio State University at Newark and Denison University, the property provides easy regional access to Columbus and close proximity to Intel’s expanding presence in central Ohio,” Shai Hess wrote in the listing.
Owners of the seven-story building had plans in 2019 to reopen it as a luxury hotel featuring 150 rooms, a restaurant, and an indoor pool. Effects from the COVID-19 pandemic scrapped those plans, however, and it’s remained vacant since.
The Longaberger Homestead, the company’s manufacturing campus and welcome center, in Frazeysburg has also been vacant for years and remains on the market for $4.7 million.
Advocate reporter Josué Perez can be reached at jhperez@newarkadvocate.com.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Longaberger basket building in Newark is on the market for $8.5 million
Reporting by Josué Perez, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
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