JLL is a world leader in real estate services, powered by an entrepreneurial spirit. What does JLL do? JLL buys, builds, occupies and invests in a variety of assets including industrial, commercial, retail, residential and hotel real estate. From tech startups to global firms, JLL’s clients span industries including banking, energy, healthcare, law, life sciences, manufacturing and technology. Bruce Rutherford is an authority on the energy 

It is a real honor to interview you today as you’ve been an active supporter of the FACC for so many years. JLL is a world leader in real estate services. What is your overview of the current Houstonian market?
Bruce Rutherford: The Houston office market is currently 23 to 24 percent vacant. Since 2014 the market has been negatively affected by an abundance of sublease space primarily from the energy industry. Until recently, Houston had more sublease space than any other city, and only recently passed that superlative on to New York City, whose office market is many times larger than ours. Houston is once again experiencing positive absorption of office space. JLL research indicates the amount of sublease space should return to normal levels by mid to late 2020, and we expect normal absorption of vacant space to continue, driven by the excellent economy in Houston, in Texas, and across the U.S.

You specialize in the Energy portfolio. Who are your main clients, and how do you assist and advice them?
BR: Our clients ask that we hold their names in confidence, but the majority of companies in the energy industry are clients of JLL nationally and globally. Our client list includes some of the largest companies and ranges to the smallest, including exploration and production, midstream, downstream, and renewable energy companies. Our services range from real estate strategy and transaction management, to facility management,
project and construction management and everything in between.

The FACC organized on November 12th a Smart city conference, and you were part of it. How does JLL implement its own smart tools and strategy? What are your best practices and initiatives?
BR: To the world JLL identifies itself as a technology company specializing in real estate. We invest hundreds of millions of dollars each year in new technology to the benefit of our clients and to improve our own efficiency.
A major focus of that investment is on making buildings more intelligent in supporting the tenants’ use of the space to achieve their business goals, and intelligent management of energy demand and supplies is a big part of that. We sometimes partner with other firms specializing in energy management technology to deliver solutions in this area to our clients. We literally have hundreds of initiatives that deliver smart solutions for clients, such as our recently-announced JiLL app, which provides a user-friendly smart phone app that allows tenants to manage lighting, heating & cooling and other typical office functions, and will also book a conference room for you. Another example is power over ethernet technology for lighting which has applications to accurately measure real-time occupancy in a building, providing information needed for more effective management and sustainability.

Do you think Houston is becoming a more responsible city with its “clean energy” ambition?
BR: We have seen in JLL’s Houston clients a growing commitment to sustainable business and energy solutions. I believe this trend within our client base is representative of society as a whole, and I believe the City of Houston will likely follow that trend, and are aware of certain specific initiatives that certainly reflect that.