Construction began in June on Two Hughes Landing, the second Class A office development located within the 66-acre Hughes Landing development on the northeast shore of Lake Woodlands.

The 197,000-square-foot, eight-story office building will be similar in design to One Hughes Landing and is scheduled for completion in spring 2014. The office building is the second of as many as 11 office buildings which could be constructed at Hughes Landing, a development that will feature restaurants, entertainment, a specialty grocer, fitness center and up to 800 multi-family residences.

Alex Sutton, co-president of The Woodlands Development Company, said strong demand drove the developer's decision to begin construction on the second building. One Hughes Landing is scheduled for occupancy in September upon the building's completion and is at least 55-60 percent leased, according to the Development Company.

"Demand is strong for this kind of Class A office [space]," Sutton said. "[Hughes Landing] is a high-quality, prestigious office environment where people want to be. It's a great location, and it's got a lot of amenities located within the mixed-used part of it."

Layne Christensen will occupy the top two floors—about 51,200 square feet—of One Hughes Landing, while PetroQuest Energy, Summit Midstream, Wells Fargo Bank and Post Oak Bank will also occupy space.

Sutton believes the strong economy in The Woodlands and success of the local oil and gas industry are driving factors in Hughes Landing's demand. Although no tenants have been announced for Two Hughes Landing, he said businesses showing interest are primarily within the energy and service sectors.

Colliers International co-chairman Bob Parsley, who handles office leasing for the Development Company with Senior Vice President Norm Munoz, said Colliers is negotiating with tenants to fill One Hughes Landing to nearly 90 percent. He said Colliers has already begun discussions with several possible tenants for Two Hughes Landing, which could begin occupancy in May 2014.

"We already have a significant demand for Two Hughes Landing," Parsley said. "And we would anticipate that, over the next couple of months, we will have significant interest and leases signed for a good portion of that building."

He said design has already begun on the third office building, which could be 12 stories and occupy as much as 300,000 square feet. Parsley said there has even been interest in corporations requesting a "build to suit," in which the Development Company would construct an entire building for a single company.

"We've had conversations with several companies regarding build to suit throughout The Woodlands, and obviously Hughes Landing would be an opportunity to be on Lake Woodlands in a mixed-use development," Parsley said.

With office space development well underway, Sutton said, other pieces of Hughes Landing could begin to take shape over the next few months. He said construction on the residential portion of the development could begin in the third quarter of 2013, as could the section that will house as many as six restaurants.

Although Sutton could not confirm names, he said one restaurant has already signed and three others are in negotiations with the Development Company.

"Hughes Landing is a great mixed-use development," he said. "It's being well received in the retail market and restaurant market. I'm sure it will be well received from residential, and it's well received from office [development]."