Media contact:
Nicole Dailey Jones (216) 263-4602, (216) 338-0863 or ndjones@cuyahogacounty.us
John Kohlstrand (216) 698-2099 or jkohlstrand@cuyahogacounty.us
Patrice Sadd (American Greetings) (216) 252-7300 ext. 2584 or (440) 537-3500 or Patrice.Sadd@amgreetings.com


CLEVELAND – After announcing plans to build new headquarters in Cuyahoga County, American Greetings’ CEO Zev Weiss and Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald announced today their efforts to partner, along with the State of Ohio, to attract jobs to American Greetings’ existing location in Cuyahoga County.

• As part of a partnership with the county and the state, American Greetings is committed to bringing new jobs to Brooklyn after its planned move in 2014 to form the nucleus of job creation efforts at the site.
• The parties have agreed to pursue a reuse for the existing headquarters that will attract future American Greetings employees and other tenants. Weiss announced that American Greetings is willing to donate or make available some or all of its current headquarters facility to a non-profit organization in partnership with the county and the state so the property can continue to generate economic benefits for the community. One Cleveland arts organization has already looked at the facility and is very interested in the site.

“We welcome this potential net job creation in Cuyahoga County and will continue to work with American Greetings to make that happen,” said County Executive Ed FitzGerald. “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. 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.”

Zev Weiss, American Greetings’ CEO added, “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.”