Larry Cambra

The life science and defense industries have been the major driver of office activity in San Diego, but new tech companies arriving on the scene could shake up the market. Amazon, Google and Walmart Labs have planted roots in the market in the last few years, and this year, Apple is expanding in the market, adding 1,000 jobs. “The growing tech presence is expected to have a ripple effect in the market.

Since 2017, technology tenants overall have leased approximately 3.5 million square feet of space countywide, split by nearly 2.6 million square feet of office space, and nearly 1 million square feet of industrial classed space,” Larry Cambra, director of brokerage in San Diego at Cushman & Wakefield. “Brand name technology companies continue to grow their presence in San Diego. Amazon, Google and Walmart Labs committed to the region over the past couple of years. And now Apple is setting up a significant operation in San Diego to take advantage of the region's STEM talent. We expect to see a ripple effect around these companies similar to what we saw historically when Qualcomm was growing rapidly in the region.”

Despite the potential for tech growth, life science and defense remains the leading industries of San Diego's office sector. “Since 2017, life sciences has accounted for approximately 2.7 million square feet of leasing activity across the office and industrial sectors, while the defense industry has accumulated more than 1.9 million square feet,” adds Cambra. “That equates to approximately 8 million square feet of office and industrial leasing activity driven by the tech, life sciences and defense industries since just 2017. Notably, the defense industry/federal government is the biggest customer of the tech industry in the region.”