The office did not disappear after 2020. It changed its job. When work could happen anywhere, the reason to gather in one place had to be better than a screen at home. That is the question every modern office now answers, and it is the question 615 Waterfront was built to answer in Allentown.
A workplace is a tool for the work a company wants to do. The best ones make focus easy, make collaboration natural, and give people a reason to show up. Class A space is where those decisions get made well: efficient floor plates, abundant natural light, strong building systems, and amenities that support a full workday. The market has noticed.
The pandemic reset what tenants expect
The pandemic accelerated technology that is now standard practice: cloud collaboration, smart videoconferencing, touchless entry, and connected building systems. 615 Waterfront opened in March 2023, late enough to design these choices in rather than retrofit them. Touchless keycard access at the entrance, the elevators, and individual suites reduces shared touchpoints, and the Wellness+ program carries that thinking through the building.
The shift also changed how much space companies take and how hard each square foot has to work. Many organizations now lease less space than they did before 2020, and they spend that budget on quality instead. Flexible layouts, hot-desking, quiet rooms, and collaboration zones let employees choose the setting that fits the task. Autonomy over how and where you work is part of why people return.
Flight to quality is the defining trend
Brokers call it the flight to quality. Tenants are leaving older Class B and C buildings for newer Class A space, often paying similar or higher rents to get it, because the building itself helps recruit and retain people. National net absorption of office space turned positive again in 2024 as demand concentrated in the best buildings. The bifurcation is clear: an oversupply of dated, functionally obsolete space, and an undersupply of the offices people actually want.
Health and wellness moved from a perk to a baseline. Advanced ventilation, daylight, outdoor access, and touchless technology are now expected in buildings leased. 615 Waterfront filters and circulates air throughout the building, opens onto the Lehigh River, and connects to the River Walk, so a midday break is a few steps away.
Sustainability is part of the brief
Energy-efficient systems, careful material choices, and reduced commuting all factor into how companies measure a building today. The Waterfront pairs Class A offices with River House and a growing residential district, which means employees can live within walking distance of work and skip the commute entirely. That is good for people and for the carbon math.
The future of the office is not more space. It is a better space, in a place people want to be.
See the Offices at 615 Waterfront and walk the River Walk that runs alongside them. Schedule a visit.