Manhattan, Baby!

reprints


135 east 57 wallyg Manhattan, Baby! E-Trade, the online brokerage that hawks its services with TV ads featuring chattering babies sitting at computers (and in so doing kind of infantilizes its customer base, if you don’t mind us saying so), has hired CB Richard Ellis to scout out new office space.

CBRE’s Mark Ravesloot will hunt for 40,000 to 50,000 square feet in the ailing New York office market, according to industry sources. Neither Mr. Ravesloot nor E-Trade would comment for this story, but sources say the firm has a couple of years left on its lease, and so plenty of time to plot its next move.

Old news reports indicate the firm has more than 100,000 square feet at Harborside Financial Center’s Plaza 2 in New Jersey, as well as about 60,000 square feet at the Cohen Brothers’ 135 East 57th Street.

Whether the firm decides to consolidate more back-office space in the penny pincher’s haven of New Jersey and merely keep executive offices Manhattan-side, like the Depository Trust before it, is anybody’s guess.

drubinstein@observer.com