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"You might see it three or four miles off before you come around the bend, and then you say, 'That is a basket. That is unquestionably a basket,'" said Tom Rochon.
It is a basket, or rather, a seven-story office building shaped like one—a massive facsimile of the signature picnic basket made by the company once headquartered there. Some 40 miles outside Columbus, Ohio, the basket building, as it's locally known, is one of the area's grandest attractions, inviting quirky selfie-seekers, architecture nerds, and, of course, basket enthusiasts.
Despite its celebrity, its owner has had trouble off-loading the gargantuan basket, due to its size, location, and—well, you've seen it, right?
When the property—slightly larger than another Ohio landmark, Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—was listed 18 months ago, the asking price was $7.5 million. Now it's on the market for $5 million, or about $28 a square foot, about half of what traditionally shaped office buildings in the area usually sell for, according to Columbus real estate adviser Bradford L. Kitchen, president of the real estate advisory firm Alterra. The basket building's listing agent, Michael Guagenti of Cushman & Wakefield, said commercial property in the area typically ranges from $50 to $80 a square foot.
The basket was built for about $32 million and finished in 1997, according to Guagenti, as a home for the Longaberger Company. Known for its kitschy baskets, both decorative and functional, Longaberger has been around since the 1970s and once boasted sales of $1 billion, largely the result of direct-sales agents who hawked baskets at Tupperware-esque parties. But its sales reportedly fell to $100 million in 2012. As Longaberger moved workers from the basket building to a nearby factory, its Dallas-based holding company, JRJR Networks, for which Rochon works, decided to sell to "consolidate and streamline our operations," Chief Financial Officer Chris Brooks said in a June earnings statement.
www.bloomberg.com
It is a basket, or rather, a seven-story office building shaped like one—a massive facsimile of the signature picnic basket made by the company once headquartered there. Some 40 miles outside Columbus, Ohio, the basket building, as it's locally known, is one of the area's grandest attractions, inviting quirky selfie-seekers, architecture nerds, and, of course, basket enthusiasts.
Despite its celebrity, its owner has had trouble off-loading the gargantuan basket, due to its size, location, and—well, you've seen it, right?
When the property—slightly larger than another Ohio landmark, Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame—was listed 18 months ago, the asking price was $7.5 million. Now it's on the market for $5 million, or about $28 a square foot, about half of what traditionally shaped office buildings in the area usually sell for, according to Columbus real estate adviser Bradford L. Kitchen, president of the real estate advisory firm Alterra. The basket building's listing agent, Michael Guagenti of Cushman & Wakefield, said commercial property in the area typically ranges from $50 to $80 a square foot.
The basket was built for about $32 million and finished in 1997, according to Guagenti, as a home for the Longaberger Company. Known for its kitschy baskets, both decorative and functional, Longaberger has been around since the 1970s and once boasted sales of $1 billion, largely the result of direct-sales agents who hawked baskets at Tupperware-esque parties. But its sales reportedly fell to $100 million in 2012. As Longaberger moved workers from the basket building to a nearby factory, its Dallas-based holding company, JRJR Networks, for which Rochon works, decided to sell to "consolidate and streamline our operations," Chief Financial Officer Chris Brooks said in a June earnings statement.
Selling a $5 Million, Seven-Story Basket Is No Picnic
Its size, location, and fundamental basket-ness make it tough to sell, even at a steep discount.
www.bloomberg.com
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