In recent years, developers have transformed old L.A. offices or constructed new buildings for high-tech firms. Playa Vista, parts of which are still under construction, is becoming an outpost for Silicon Valley South. Google purchased 12 acres in Playa Vista to expand its presence in Los Angeles, and Yahoo signed onto a long-term lease at the new Collective Campus for 130,000 square feet of office space.
There is a growing trend for creative space for tech companies. In response to the demand for more creative space, CBRE Group announced the formation of the Technology & Media Practice in 2014, an advisory group of experts, which serves specifically to technology and media industry.
And, according to a 2014 report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation Institute for Applied Economics, the Los Angeles area includes more high-tech jobs than Boston-Cambridge, Mass.; Santa Clara County, Calif.; and New York City. The L.A. technology sector grossed a total of $32 billion in wages in 2013.
In 2015, the city’s high-tech industry was responsible for creating 9 percent of all jobs in Los Angeles County, adding more than $108 billion to the region’s economy and paying more than $21 million in taxes, according to a report by the county Economic Development Corp.
The tech-heavy San Francisco Bay Area has far outpaced Los Angeles County in total job growth since 1990. But Los Angeles is looking to become another leading city for the high-tech sector — possibly bigger than Northern California.
The views, statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Institutional Real Estate, Inc.
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Andrea Waitrovich is editor of IREN and web content editor of Institutional Real Estate, Inc.
