Access to Talent Is The Real Driver Behind DTLA’s Growth

Downtown Los Angeles is growing rapidly across asset classes. Office has been the most recent sector to benefit from the market development, and while there are many catalysts of the office market growth, Downtown’s central geographic location and access to a large pool of talent is certainly at the top of the list.

“One of the biggest constraints to companies moving downtown historically has been that senior executives live on the Westside, and they are not going to want to do that commute,” Nick Griffin, executive director of the Downtown Center Business Improvement District, tells GlobeSt.com. “That has shifted. First because you now have more people at that level living in neighborhoods near downtown, like Silverlake and Los Feliz. Second talent decisions are driving the location decisions more than ever before. Access to talent has become so important, and we are just starting to see the impact of that.”

Today, quality talent is the highest commodity for companies, and Downtown’s access to talent is attracting business to the market. “It is a challenge to hire good talent these days,” says Griffin. “If that is one of a company’s biggest challenges and you present them with the prospect that an area has access to a much larger pool of talent, it is a real advantage. You are also getting talent in the mid- to high-mid range, which are the most valuable and the most difficult to get.”

Although Downtown Los Angeles has grown into a live-work-play community, the submarket has also begun to influence surrounding markets. “As Downtown as grown more desirable over the last 10 years, its sphere of influence has grown significantly as well,” says Griffin. “Surrounding neighborhoods have gentrified and grown as residential neighborhoods, and their proximity to Downtown Los Angeles means that they have significant job and professional opportunities. That makes them all the more desirable.”

Surrounding submarkets Silverlake and Los Feliz have grown in popularity and have emerged as highly desirable residential neighborhoods, but the commute across town to creative job markets is prohibitive to attracting talent in these neighborhoods. “I think that it is hard to say which came first in terms of causality. It seems to have happen concurrently,” adds Griffin. “There is a connection if you live in a neighborhood like Silverlake, working downtown is a dream compared to any other commute—and you still get to live in a cool neighborhood that is somewhat high-end. The types of people that are in those neighborhoods tend to be well-educated, creative individuals. The natural place for them to work would be Downtown Los Angeles.”