GlobeSt.com: In what aspects of technology is Orange County seeing the most growth?
Wetzel: Historically, Orange County hasn't been a tech market. But in the wake of the 2008 crash, it sparked an economic diversification—both because of the types of companies emerging in Orange County as well as the fact that the companies themselves are more dynamic. For example, nine of the 13 fastest-growing large-size public companies in Orange County are unrelated to banking or homebuilding; these are established companies like TTM Technologies (circuit board maker), Boot Barn (apparel) and Edwards Lifesciences (medical-device maker). However, this also rings true for entrepreneurial firms as 20 of the 22 (i.e., 91%) of the fastest-growing small-size public companies specialize in something other than homebuilding or mortgage.
Software, SaaS, IT services, gaming and media and entertainment all have a presence in Orange County and continue to grow. Acorns is a wealth-management advisor that utilizes online banking and mobile applications to reach its customers; Kareo is a medical-billing company that uses its software platform across iPad, iPhone and wearable devices; Ally Financial is almost a prototypical bank, yet its physical footprint is nonexistent and its platform entirely digital. Orange County is home to tech companies as much as traditional business with tech components—those that I like to call “tech-adjacent.” And with salaries and office rents nearly 50% cheaper than that of the Bay Area, more companies will look to secondary markets to expand—assuming the labor pool will suffice.

GlobeSt.com: Where are these companies locating, and what type of space are they seeking?
Wetzel: We're currently living in the Age of Amenity. Mixed-use is an anomaly in Orange County, so office projects have adapted to bring more amenities to the projects themselves. Tech firms aren't necessarily seeking “creative space” as much as they're seeking multi-faceted, well-functioning space that offers both services and experiences for its employees. On-site gyms, cafés and outdoor meeting spaces that are integrated with offices improve the human experience, and because tech or tech-adjacent firms are more in-tune with these concepts, they flock to locations that can deliver. Houzz at Park Place, Greenwave Systems at 200 Spectrum, NextVR at Fashion Island—these companies need more than exposed ceilings. They need integrated workplaces that offer their employees not just a fun place to work, but a sense of purpose; that will retain and attract talent.

GlobeSt.com: What do these firms need that the OC market is not providing enough of currently?
Wetzel: Parking, parking, parking. For both tech and traditional companies, density has become the name of the game. We're in an interesting phase of the automobile evolution. Self-driving cars are feverishly being manufactured and beta-tested in the Bay Area, but practical adoption and its effect on commercial real estate is still years away. In the meantime, tech firms need more parking so they can densify their offices. Firms like NextVR, Mavenlink, Cloudvirga and Digital Map Products are all raising capital and need to be thoughtful of how their commercial real estate investments will affect their M&A or IPO plans.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about the coding-education space in Orange County?
Wetzel: Orange County's labor pool of skilled engineers and computer scientists is relatively shallow compared to that of Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach, but it's quickly improving. One of the contributing factors is the emergence of coding-education firms like Coding Dojo (Seattle based) and General Assembly (New York based). The companies are a stark contrast to the for-profit colleges of old in the sense that their students leave the eight-to-16-week boot camps with tangible skills. The students may not be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Palmer Luckey, but they have real-life technical skills that are increasingly in demand by prototypical tech companies as well as tech-adjacent ones.

COSTA MESA, CA— The emergence of coding-education firms like Coding Dojo and General Assembly is contributing to Orange County's labor pool of skilled engineers and computer scientists, upping its tech-market mojo, JLL VP Scott Wetzel tells GlobeSt.com. Wetzel recently represented Coding Dojo in a new, 12,000-square-foot lease at the Hive, a 190,000-square-foot creative-office campus at 3333 Susan St. here, the tenant's first Orange County location. The pioneer in the coding bootcamp space currently has other locations in Los Angeles; Silicon Valley; Northern California; Seattle; Dallas; Washington, DC; and Chicago.

The landlord, a joint-venture between SteelWave and Goldman Sachs, was represented by Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.

Wetzel says, “Orange County saw the 10th highest tech-funding volume in the US through the third quarter in 2016 at $429 million for the period. The area is among the top markets for scaling technology companies due to its advantageous access to capital, talent and innovation.”

We spoke with Wetzel about Orange County's technology growth and where the coding-education space is heading in this market.

GlobeSt.com: In what aspects of technology is Orange County seeing the most growth?
Wetzel: Historically, Orange County hasn't been a tech market. But in the wake of the 2008 crash, it sparked an economic diversification—both because of the types of companies emerging in Orange County as well as the fact that the companies themselves are more dynamic. For example, nine of the 13 fastest-growing large-size public companies in Orange County are unrelated to banking or homebuilding; these are established companies like TTM Technologies (circuit board maker), Boot Barn (apparel) and Edwards Lifesciences (medical-device maker). However, this also rings true for entrepreneurial firms as 20 of the 22 (i.e., 91%) of the fastest-growing small-size public companies specialize in something other than homebuilding or mortgage.
Software, SaaS, IT services, gaming and media and entertainment all have a presence in Orange County and continue to grow. Acorns is a wealth-management advisor that utilizes online banking and mobile applications to reach its customers; Kareo is a medical-billing company that uses its software platform across iPad, iPhone and wearable devices; Ally Financial is almost a prototypical bank, yet its physical footprint is nonexistent and its platform entirely digital. Orange County is home to tech companies as much as traditional business with tech components—those that I like to call “tech-adjacent.” And with salaries and office rents nearly 50% cheaper than that of the Bay Area, more companies will look to secondary markets to expand—assuming the labor pool will suffice.

GlobeSt.com: Where are these companies locating, and what type of space are they seeking?
Wetzel: We're currently living in the Age of Amenity. Mixed-use is an anomaly in Orange County, so office projects have adapted to bring more amenities to the projects themselves. Tech firms aren't necessarily seeking “creative space” as much as they're seeking multi-faceted, well-functioning space that offers both services and experiences for its employees. On-site gyms, cafés and outdoor meeting spaces that are integrated with offices improve the human experience, and because tech or tech-adjacent firms are more in-tune with these concepts, they flock to locations that can deliver. Houzz at Park Place, Greenwave Systems at 200 Spectrum, NextVR at Fashion Island—these companies need more than exposed ceilings. They need integrated workplaces that offer their employees not just a fun place to work, but a sense of purpose; that will retain and attract talent.

GlobeSt.com: What do these firms need that the OC market is not providing enough of currently?
Wetzel: Parking, parking, parking. For both tech and traditional companies, density has become the name of the game. We're in an interesting phase of the automobile evolution. Self-driving cars are feverishly being manufactured and beta-tested in the Bay Area, but practical adoption and its effect on commercial real estate is still years away. In the meantime, tech firms need more parking so they can densify their offices. Firms like NextVR, Mavenlink, Cloudvirga and Digital Map Products are all raising capital and need to be thoughtful of how their commercial real estate investments will affect their M&A or IPO plans.

GlobeSt.com: What else should our readers know about the coding-education space in Orange County?
Wetzel: Orange County's labor pool of skilled engineers and computer scientists is relatively shallow compared to that of Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach, but it's quickly improving. One of the contributing factors is the emergence of coding-education firms like Coding Dojo (Seattle based) and General Assembly (New York based). The companies are a stark contrast to the for-profit colleges of old in the sense that their students leave the eight-to-16-week boot camps with tangible skills. The students may not be the next Mark Zuckerberg or Palmer Luckey, but they have real-life technical skills that are increasingly in demand by prototypical tech companies as well as tech-adjacent ones.