Is E*Trade eyeing 1 WTC?

At least one floor of hulking office tower will be subdivided: Stacom

One World Trade
One World Trade

The online discount stock brokerage E*Trade is considering a lease at One World Trade Center, sources told The Real Deal.

The financial services company is taking “a hard look,” at space inside the landmark tower, one source said.

“They kicked the tires,” confirmed Lou Buffalino, a senior vice president at DTZ, the brokerage formerly known as UGL Services.

The company took the name DTZ in October, about a year after UGL Services paid $119 million for the trading operations of the London-based global property company DTZ.

Buffalino is not representing E*Trade, and an E*Trade spokesperson denied that the company has looked at a 1 World Trade Center space.

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E*Trade currently occupies 39,000 square feet at the Time-Life Building, which serves as the company’s headquarters, according to information from real estate research firm CoStar.

Tara Stacom of Cushman & Wakefield, who handles leasing for the building, would not confirm the company’s interest, but did say that the building has begun preparations to divide up at least one floor at 1 World Trade. An architect has been brought in, and additional floors will be subdivided based on the market, she said.

“We expect, in 2013, to do some [deals for] smaller spaces,” she told The Real Deal.

Be sure to check out our comprehensive coverage of leasing in and around One World Trade in The Real Deal’s November issue.