Portland’s long-empty floating restaurant may be headed for a very 2026 makeover: several floating saunas, a wellness cafe and renovations to two structures are now in early-stage plans for the Willamette River site. If approved, the unusual RiverPlace property could trade dormant dining for a wellness-focused waterfront use.
An application filed with the City of Portland proposes adding several floating saunas and renovating two structures, according to OregonLive. The project is still in the proposal stage, so Portlanders should not start booking a sweat session just yet.
The city’s permit record identifies the Oregon Department of State Lands as owner of the floating building and shows a zoning and information application for renovation of the floating restaurant at the site. That application was marked completed in 2025, according to PortlandMaps records, while the newer concept is described by the Portland Business Journal as a floating-sauna and wellness-cafe plan.
From Floating Dining To Floating Wellness
The 4,542-square-foot property has been marketed as an Iconic Riverplace Floating Restaurant, with a commercial listing showing an $800,000 asking price, according to a Crexi listing. The listing also highlights adjacent dock space, water and electricity, plus sightlines from the Marquam and Hawthorne bridges—features that could make adaptive reuse more plausible than starting from an empty riverbank.
Portland’s sauna scene is already heating up. Ebb & Ember says it opened the city’s first floating sauna on the Columbia River in 2026, while Portland Monthly recently highlighted both that project and mobile sauna operators bringing heat-and-cold-plunge sessions to the Willamette.
RiverPlace Is Getting More Than One Second Act
The proposed sauna project is arriving as another nearby waterfront comeback takes shape. McCormick & Schmick’s Harborside closed its RiverPlace restaurant in March 2024 after a decades-long run, according to Willamette Week, while a separate Vietnamese concept called Cay Bar & Grill is targeting an August or September opening in the former Harborside space, as Hoodline previously reported.
Approval Is The Big Question
Portland’s floating-structure rules require permits and inspections for new construction, additions, alterations and improvements, with separate plumbing, electrical and mechanical permits generally required as well. City code says the work cannot be occupied until a certificate of compliance is issued, according to Portland’s code. In other words, the sauna idea has a substantial regulatory and buildout path before anyone is sweating over the Willamette.
The public details outlined by OregonLive do not include a final operator, opening date or project budget. For now, the big question is whether this former restaurant can turn its unusual setting into a destination again—with more steam than seafood.
