Specifically, Younan notes that oil and gas companies did not contract as much as those in other industries and are now hiring new people. For example, BP has added to its workforce at the 17-story Two Westlake Park, which Younan Properties has owned since 2007. The publicly-traded energy giant has been a tenant in the 379,108-square-foot building since 2005 and uses its space as a central command center for its drilling operations.

“In general, we see a positive dynamic in the oil and gas business,” Younan says, adding that BP has discussed the possibility of taking additional space in Two Westlake Park; however, the building is 100% occupied.

Younan notes that BP’s lease was scheduled to roll in March 2011, and the company chose to renew early, “Even though BP recently completed a new building nearby, they felt they still needed space in our building,” he explains. Louis Rosenthal of Jones Lang LaSalle’s local office represented BP in the deal, while Younan Properties was represented by Mike Martin of PM Realty.

Younan attributes the firm’s strong leasing velocity to its new in-house leasing support team and third-party brokerage team. Last month, the company brought on Michael Adams as a regional leasing manager for Houston. In this newly established position, Adams is responsible for driving Younan's leasing and marketing strategies for more than 2 million square feet of office space owned and managed by Younan in Houston.