Energy Corridor office building to add high-end restaurant as part of major renovation

By Florian Martin – Reporter, Houston Business Journal

Mar 18, 2025 An Energy Corridor office building is adding a high-end restaurant as part of an “extensive” renovation.

Houston-based Mac Haik Enterprises started the amenity-focused makeover of its Energy Tower II at 11720 Katy Freeway in December and expects to complete it in September, said CBRE Executive Vice President Bubba Harkins, who leases the building together with Vice President Jenny Sealy.

He declined to disclose the cost of the renovation, which also includes an expanded lobby, a tenant lounge with a coffee bar, a renovated fitness center with country club-style locker rooms and outdoor exercise area, updated outdoor greenspace with covered seating areas connected to the building lounge, and new conference rooms on the first and second floors. The second-floor conference rooms will be connected to the tenant lounge with a new stairway. “It's really all about the arrival experience with a new valet drop-off and an addition to the building as a building entry,” Harkins said. “The arrival will look completely new and refreshed, and the walk-in experience will look as if you're walking into a brand-new new-construction building.”

The parking garage will also be updated with new wayfinding and signage. The architect for the project is HOK, which has a Houston office, and the general contractor is Sugar Land-based E.E. Reed Construction LP.

Harkins declined to provide any more information about the restaurant other than that it will be operated by Mac Haik and be visible from Interstate 10.

“The intent for the restaurant is twofold: not only to serve the campus but also to serve the community,” he said. “(Mac Haik) felt like this was a great opportunity to provide an offering that they think will, obviously, be a great addition to the surrounding area.”

He expects the restaurant to open by the end of this year.

The 428,831-square-foot, 17-story Energy Tower II is one of four office towers in the Energy Plaza Office Park, which also includes the Embassy Suites Houston Energy Corridor, all owned by Mac Haik.

The 16-year-old building most recently lost Technip Energies, which had occupied about 375,000 square feet across 15 stories before moving out last September. The global engineering and technology company signed a 171,600-square-foot lease for the top six floors of the 14-story West Memorial Place II at 15377 Memorial Drive in April 2023.

CBRE has since signed an undisclosed engineering firm for 46,000 square feet at Energy Tower II, including the entire fourth floor and part of the third, Harkins said, adding that the company expects to start its build-out soon and move in later this year. The lease will bring the building’s occupancy rate up to 29% from 10% after Technip’s exit. +Read More