City Council OK's American Greetings Plan

Building the world headquarters for American Greetings took another step forward Thursday night as Westlake City Council approved the revised preliminary development plan for the project.

The 660,000 square foot building and the adjacent parking garage will be built on the southern end of .

The , with conditions, at its Aug. 27 meeting.

Planning director Richard Parry gave a presentation of the plans, which also included landscaping and parking garages. He showed how raised landscaping at the southern end of the property will help screen noise and light for residents of the nearby Wyndgate development. Residents west of Crocker Park will get a buffer of fencing, landscaping and an outdoor textile screen on west-facing garages. Service entrances for trucks into America Greetings will be mostly blocked from view of Crocker Road by raised landscaping.

Before the meeting Thursday, Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough said he was pleased with the plans.

"I like it," he said. "It's a very attractive building and fits better into what we have there in Crocker Park. But it's still unique and people can see the artistic talent that American Greetings has."

Clough said he liked the plans for an open courtyard on the third floor in the center of the building. It will be adjacent to a cafeteria, so employees can eat and work there.