Franklin Street Properties’ Energy Tower I has inked 121k SF recently and increased its occupancy by 37%.

Poynter Commercial Properties prez Kevin Poynter handles leasing of the 326k SF tower and tells us he signed Pacific Drilling for 77k SF (it’ll be the firm’s HQ and a big expansion from its Galleria location), Higginbotham Insurance & Financial Services for 35k SF, and Q’Max Solutions for 9,000 SF. The 14-story property is at 11700 Katy Fwy and has been undergoing improvements, including renovation of common areas, fitness center, restaurant, and restrooms; the addition of a conference facility; and adding an outdoor seating/dining area. Hines is handling those upgrades, as well as property management.

Here’s Energy Tower I, which still has 200k SF of contiguous space available. Kevin tells us the property just went on the market to lease on Sept. 1 and companies are clamoring to lease space—there are discussions in the works with several more qualified tenants. He says this is the first of the Energy Tower properties built and is the cornerstone for the area's projects. Its strategic location at the northwest corner of I-10 and Kirkwood has earned the distinction of the gateway to the Energy Corridor, he says. The other side of the table: NAI Houston’s Jon Silberman repped Pacific Drilling, Moody Rambin’s Jim Vann repped Higginbotham, and DTZ Americas’ Thomas McKenzie repped Q’Max.