If you had your heart set on owning a basket-shaped building, you've missed your chance. After three years on the market and a massive $6 million price reduction, the Longaberger Basket Building we first told you about last year finally has a buyer.
For $1.2 million, the building comes with 21 acres of land, but it also has a hefty tax bill attached. According to Curbed, Coon Restoration purchased the building and are now in charge of taking care of over $800,000 worth of back taxes.
Soon, the new owners will begin working with a team of architects to restore the building. The plan is to make it into a commercial or residential space. Since the design is so unique, they hope to preserve it. Coon Restoration is also behind some other big restorations in the area, including the Old Historic Jail in Newark and a train station in Pennsylvania.
The Longaberger Company originally built the building back in 1997 as a replica of the baskets the company makes. During their heyday, they were bringing in $1 billion worth of sales every year. In celebration of their success, they spent $32 million to build the Longaberger building as their headquarters.
Sadly, their success wouldn't stick around for long. By 2012, their sales had dropped significantly, and the company went through a reorganization phase. The basket building hit the market at $7.5 million. Eventually, the price dropped to $5 million and later $1 million to finally rid the company of the money-hog of a building.
Hopefully, these new renovators will be able to make the building into something useful that others actually want to use. It's a really interesting looking building, and it would be a shame if the space went to waste.
