NEW YORK CITY-While Brookfield Office Properties Inc. has been thrust into the spotlight over the Occupy Wall Street protests in Zuccotti Park, the company is also in talks to up its stake in the World Financial Center, media reports say. The Wall Street Journal reported that Brookfield is negotiating a deal with Bank of America Corp. to purchase the firm’s 49% stake in 4 World Financial Center, a transaction that would make Brookfield the full owner of the 34-story, two million-square-foot office tower, unnamed sources say.

The deal comes on the heels of BofA’s decision to keep more than one quarter of the 2.7 million square feet of space in the building that the company inherited when it purchased Merrill Lynch, the sources told the WSJ. The 750,000-square-foot lease is signed, but in escrow, the article notes.

If completed, the transaction would be another vote of support for the Battery Park City community. Earlier this year, Brookfield rolled out a $250 million retail redevelopment plan for the site, but the company must also fill a vacant space left behind by Nomura Holding America Inc., who will be moving from 2 World Financial Center to a 900,000-square-foot space at Worldwide Plaza at 825 Eighth Ave. in Midtown.