Kenneth Wise of the Houston office of Jones Lang LaSalle says it's no isolated incident that a rash of leases have closed off more than 25,000 sf at the Galleria Financial Center, positioned along the 5000 block of Westheimer. He says transactions--particularly those between 10,000 sf and 30,000 sf--have definitely increased within the submarket.

Wise attributes the stepped-up activity to building owner concessions, such as additional leasehold improvements, parking abatements and moving expenses. As a building owner representative, Wise has been offering memberships to the University Club to executives for some tenants.

Wise fully expects absorption will continue upward for the rest of the year. Leasing activity is up, even though he admits many of the incoming tenants are shifting from other Galleria office buildings.

Galleria Financial Center is a 250,961-sf office building that has just reached 93% occupancy thanks to the new deals. The largest gain was made in a renewal by New York City-based UBS PaineWebber. It's expanded a 10th-floor lease by 9,527 sf, boosting the total to 36,599 sf. UBS PaineWebber used an in-house rep for the talks.

BBVA Bancomer Securities also re-upped its 5,342-sf lease on the 12th floor while adding 5,847 sf on the sixth floor to its leased interests. Bob Parsley and John Cox, both of Colliers International's Houston office, represented the tenant.

Financial adviser M.L. Kearns & Associates Inc. returned to the building after a three-year hiatus and took 3,137 sf on the 11th floor, says Wise. Jeffrey Tillisch of Real Estate Strategies Group was the tenant's representative.

In a 2,379-sf agreement, Crest Oil and Gas will occupy a seventh-floor office. The firm represented itself at the bargaining table.

The Galleria Financial Center is part of a three-building Houston portfolio owned by Chicago-based Walton Street Capital. Wise holds the leasing assignment for the trio, which includes Post Oak Tower and 2700 Post Oak Boulevard office buildings.