HOUSTON--Cousins Properties Inc. has signed two large lease extensions in Houston totaling approximately 216,000 square feet. The tenants are Direct Energy and Cox Radio.

"I'm very pleased to announce two significant lease transactions in our Houston portfolio," says Larry Gellerstedt, president and chief executive officer of Cousins. "With the execution of Direct Energy and Cox Radio, we have successfully mitigated a substantial portion of our near-term lease exposure in Houston at new rents well above our current in-place rents."

Direct Energy, the sixth-largest customer in Cousins' Houston portfolio, currently occupies a total of 228,159 square feet of space at Greenway Plaza. With 173,760 square feet set to expire May 2017 and 54,399 square feet set to expire January 2019, the extension reduces the company's total lease to 191,893 square feet and extends its maturity to May 2023.