American Greetings and Cuyahoga County are "jointly focused on maximizing the job potential at the Brooklyn site after American Greetings relocates," said company spokeswoman Patrice Sadd.
View full sizeAmerican Greetings could bring jobs back to its Brooklyn headquarters after it goes to Westlake.BROOKLYN, Ohio - Less than a week after announcing it was moving its headquarters to Westlake in 2014, American Greetings Corp. Chief Executive Zev Weiss is planning to bring new jobs to the Brooklyn facility.
The greeting card manufacturer said it is talking with Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald about possibly donating the company's 1-million-square-foot facility and 100 acres of land to the county, as well as ways to make them more attractive to future American Greetings employees and other tenants.
FitzGerald said the company could bring at least 100 jobs from its operations in other states back to Ohio as part of those efforts.
"They have made a commitment that they are going to attempt to bring many out-of-state jobs back to their Brooklyn facility," he said. "I've been urging them to have an economic plan for the Brooklyn site, and I think we're getting there."
But American Greetings spokeswoman Patrice Sadd said: "It's premature to quantify the number of jobs this early in the process."
"We have had some very constructive discussions with Mr. FitzGerald and his staff, and we're jointly focused on maximizing the job potential at the Brooklyn site after American Greetings relocates.
"We're in the early stages of this partnership with the county. It's a real partnership seeking real results."
Weiss said in a statement that "with the right support from the county and the state, the facility could be a magnet for certain types of jobs, and in that context, we would be an enthusiastic partner."
In addition, the company said it is willing to donate or make available some or all of its Brooklyn headquarters to a nonprofit organization so that it can continue to generate economic benefits for the community and the city of Brooklyn, which is facing the prospect of losing its largest employer.
One unidentified Cleveland arts organization has already looked at the facility an is said to be "very interested in the site," according to the statement.
FitzGerald said some or all of the land could become an industrial park.
"Is it going to become the equivalent of what Brooklyn has now? No. But it's a heck of a lot better than where this whole thing stood last week," he said.
"We will also explore all opportunities to reuse or redeploy the Brooklyn facility so it continues to generate ongoing revenue for the City of Brooklyn and the county," FitzGerald said in a joint statement from the company and county released today.
"I appreciate American Greetings' willingness to work with us and be creative in finding new occupants for this space. By offering to contribute the building, they are going out of their way to do the right thing for the community," he said.
Brooklyn Mayor Richard Balbier said he looks forward to hearing more details about new tenants occupying the building.
"I'm excited that people are interested in helping us," he said. "I'm happy that the county's involved, and hopefully, with the county, the state and American Greetings, we can work something out and have a new tenant in there before they leave."