A long-quiet corner of Portland's Pearl District might be gearing up for last call instead of last rites. A Vancouver business owner is eyeing the old Mounted Patrol building at the Centennial Mills complex for a restaurant and nightclub, a fresh twist in a redevelopment saga that has dragged on for years along the Willamette River.
The two-story riverfront structure, tucked across from Fields Park, is being floated as both a sit-down restaurant and late-night entertainment spot. If it moves forward, the nightclub would sit inside a site Portland planners have been trying to reimagine for more than a decade, and it would have to coexist with an already approved redevelopment plan for the larger four-acre parcel.
As reported by the Portland Business Journal, a Vancouver, Washington-based owner has targeted part of the Centennial Mills property for the entertainment concept, focusing on the former Mounted Patrol building along the river in the North Pearl District.
Permit Records Name Kasper As The Applicant
City permit logs on PortlandMaps show an early assistance request filed November 21, 2025. The entry, listed under case number 25-095303, names James Kasper of Kasper Enterprises as the applicant to convert the Mounted Patrol building at 1362 NW Naito Parkway into a restaurant and nightclub.
That early assistance entry is currently marked "Cancelled" in city records. In city-process speak, a cancelled early assistance file can signal a withdrawn or revised approach rather than a final verdict. Any actual development would still require a full land use and building permit application and a fresh round of review.
How The Nightclub Fits With The Approved Redevelopment
The broader Centennial Mills site already has a major redevelopment blueprint in hand: an approximately $80 million project by SERA Architects and developer Stuart Lindquist that won Portland Design Commission approval last fall. That plan, however, did not incorporate the Mounted Patrol building.
Because the structure sits outside that approved design, a nightclub proposal would either require revisiting the existing plan or operating on its own track next to it, according to DJC Oregon.
Structure, Safety And Regulatory Hurdles
Turning a century-old mill structure into a modern nightlife venue is not as simple as swapping grain sacks for disco balls. A designer told DJC Oregon that converting the existing buildings would likely trigger extensive seismic upgrades and structural improvements, including new shear walls and roof and floor diaphragm work.
"At this point, it's a very conceptual idea," the designer said, underscoring that the vision is still more sketch than construction drawing. Any formal proposal would be subject to Portland's public land use review process, Design Commission oversight where required, and standard building permit scrutiny before any work could start.
What's Next For The Site
Centennial Mills has been Portland's perennial "what if" on the riverfront, with multiple developers and concepts cycling through over the years. The Design Commission's recent approval created a path for new mid-rise buildings and public river access, yet the fate of the Mounted Patrol building has remained an open question, according to the Northwest Examiner.
If the nightclub idea returns in a new filing, it will almost certainly spark fresh neighborhood debate and a new series of city hearings before any change of use is allowed. For now, though, the project is stuck at the concept stage. City records show only the cancelled early assistance entry, with no follow-up applications on file.
Anyone tracking the future of Centennial Mills will want to keep an eye out for new land use applications, design review notices, and any public statements from the property owner or Lindquist Development. Until those show up, the Mounted Patrol building remains what it has been for years: a prominent waterfront question mark with a potential nightclub waiting in the wings.
