LOS ANGELES-A key factor for the economic future of the Los Angeles area is the growth of the next generation of tech companies that will drive the digital revolution in the 21^st century. In recent years, more than 600 technology startups have sprouted throughout greater Los Angeles. In particular, Silicon Beach—the three-mile oceanfront corridor from Venice to Santa Monica—is highly desirable for the convergence of technology, media and entertainment industries.

The culture of Silicon Beach is unique and specific to its geography. Silicon Beach is consumer oriented, drawing on art, commerce and entertainment to explore the intersections between advertising, fashion, gaming, technology and video.

The Los Angeles Mayor's Council on Innovation and Industry released a report in 2012 on how to grow Silicon Beach. The recommendations—tax breaks and investment incentives, among others—provide a structured blueprint to transform Los Angeles into a global technology powerhouse.

In addition to Silicon Beach, Los Angeles' tech awakening has been growing in other submarkets including Hollywood, Downtown and Playa Vista, where established giants such as Google and Apple have opened offices. The surge in demand is attracting developers, who are renovating old and abandoned buildings to provide open and collaborative workspaces attractive to these types of companies.

Besides the location being ideal for attracting and retaining the best and brightest talent, Los Angeles can also boast the extraordinary resources to sustain and build upon its tech boom. World renowned education facilities such as Caltech, UCLA and USC collectively graduate more engineers annually than Berkeley and Stanford – major feeders for Silicon Valley. Additionally, the Los Angeles crop of tech staffers tends to possess strong inter-disciplinary skills, having developed expertise in film, communications, music, design and entrepreneurism.

It is safe to say that the entertainment industry of Los Angeles goes unrivaled. Hollywood studios are using profits from cable and television to invest in digital entertainment. Hulu, launched five years ago by News Corp. and NBC Universal, is one of the most successful online digital-content providers. It generated nearly $700 million in revenue in 2012, matching many studio divisions. Furthermore, Los Angeles is at the center of video production.

According to PwC's Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, the annual revenue generated by film and video entertainment delivered online is expected to double from $5 billion in 2012 to more than $10 billion in 2016. That said, Los Angeles-based companies produce most of this content.

As the tech corridor's demand outpaces supply, nascent companies will likely seek spaces in outlying regions of Los Angeles where rents may be more favorable. Subsequently, the tech reach in Southern California will be even more pronounced.

It will be interesting to see how the office market landscape will look in 10 years. Ultimately, developers and architects will be instrumental in reshaping how office product will be designed in the future.

Christopher Cooper is principal and managing director at Avison Young. The views expressed in this column are the author's own. This column appeared in June's Real Estate Forum magazine.