Longaberger Basket Building Sold
The troubled Longaberger Basket building at 1500 East Main Street in Newark has finally been sold. The buyer is Canton, Ohio developer Steve Coon, of Coon Restoration. Coon says “Newark has some much positive momentum right now, they are the gold standard within the state for everything they are achieving. We’ve been involved in Newark with the restoration/cleaning of the old historic jail, some work at the Pennsylvania Train Station and masonry work on the recently completed NEWork Project. I specialize in brining historic buildings and cities back to life. The Longaberger Basket Building is known all over the world and I can’t tell you how excited I am to preserve and renovate this building and put it back into use.” The purchase was facilitated by real estate broker Roberta Lepi of Lepi & Associates LLC and Brandon Hess of Shai Commerical Real Estate Ltd.
(Press Release on Building Sale Below)
Newark Mayor Jeff Hall and Newark Development Partners Announce Sale of the
Big Basket
Newark, Ohio – Mayor Jeff Hall and Newark’s Community Improvement Corporation, Newark
Development Partners (NDP) is proud to announce the sale of the famous Longaberger
Headquarters Building known as “The Big Basket”.
The seven-story building is a well-known example of novelty architecture in the shape of their
top seller, the medium Market Basket. The office building is 180,000 sq. ft, was designed by The
Longaberger Company and opened in 1997.
According to sources, the purchase occurred on Friday, December 29, 2017.
The buyer, Steve Coon of Coon Restoration of Canton, Ohio and his partner
Bobby George of Cleveland stated, “Newark has so much positive momentum
right now, they are the Gold Standard within the State for everything that
they are achieving. We’ve been involved in Newark with the
restoration/cleaning of the Old Historic Jail, some work at the Pennsylvania
Train Station and masonry work on the recently completed NEWork Project; it
has been fun watching the progress in the Downtown and I’m excited to be
part of the movement. Plus, as a Board Member of Heritage Ohio, I specialize
in bringing Historic Buildings and Cities back to life. The Longaberger Basket
Building is known all over the world and I can’t tell you how excited I am to
preserve and renovate this building and put it back into use. Mayor Hall,
Newark Development Partners (NDP) and Fred Ernest were instrumental in
bringing the Basket to my attention while attending the Heritage Ohio
Conference in October. I have a big vision in mind to bring it back to life and
keep the Longaberger story alive. I plan on sharing my vision in the coming
months.” Steve Coon and Associates will partner with Sandvick Architecture
on the Basket Project.
Mayor Je7 Hall, NDP’s Executive Director Fred Ernest and Chairman Dan
DeLawder, stated, “We are very excited to help facilitate this transaction and
make the Longaberger Basket Building a viable economic development asset
again. Having Steve Coon and his partners invested in Newark is a great win
for the City. Brandon Hess of Shai Commercial and Associates also needs to
be commended for his tenacity on the sale of this building. He wouldn’t let
any of us take our eye o7 of the importance of making the building a part of
Newark’s economy again.”
A group of local community members contributed to a fund through Newark
Development Partners to keep the utilities on after Longaberger and JRJR
vacated the building. The integrity of the building was preserved so that a
potential buyer/sale could happen. The community members that contributed
to the fund know how important the building is to Newark and all of Ohio.
Fred Ernest of NDP stated that the money we raised was almost totally spent
so the timing of this sale is very welcome and a relief.
