Silicon Valley-based Menlo Digital has filed to convert five floors of a downtown Portland high-rise into data center space, city records show.

The early assistance application, filed the week of Sept. 7, targets the 15-story Union Bank building at 707 S.W. Washington St., which Menlo Digital acquired from Portland-based Melvin Mark Cos. in May. The Oregonian first reported the filing on Thursday, Sept. 10.

The company renamed the building "MD-PDX2." It serves as a companion to "MD-PDX1," the 137,000-square-foot Block 1 of the Pearl District Brewery Blocks that Menlo Digital bought in 2024 for $21 million.

That property already houses servers.

The application calls for utility upgrades, emergency power systems, fuel storage, electrical distribution equipment and rooftop mechanical installations across the five converted floors, according to city records reviewed by The Oregonian.

The filing comes as Oregon debates limits on data center growth. Gov. Tina Kotek told roughly 200 data center opponents at the Oregon State Capitol on Tuesday, Sept. 8, that she backs a moratorium on new data center development. She also announced a pause on state land sales and new easements for the industry through July 1, 2027, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

"I support a moratorium until we make sure that any data center development is done on our terms," Kotek said at the Sept. 8 rally, as reported by The Oregonian.

But Kotek's office said current law does not give the governor authority to impose a statewide ban on data center projects on private land without legislative action, according to KATU. The Legislature is set to convene early next year.

That distinction matters for Menlo Digital. The MD-PDX2 conversion is a private-property project, placing it outside the scope of Kotek's state land pause.

Portland City Council passed a resolution on Aug. 31 directing the city administrator to notify the council when the city receives early assistance requests or permit applications from data centers drawing 20 megawatts or more. The resolution also bars the city from signing data center non-disclosure agreements. Hillsboro's city council approved a 120-day moratorium on new data center development in July.

Much of downtown Portland sits inside a city-designated enterprise zone that makes business investments eligible for property tax breaks. But the Oregon Legislature made data centers ineligible for three state tax incentive programs in 2025.

A separate moratorium on enterprise zone incentives for data centers took effect last spring, and Portland officials said they received no data center applications before that deadline, The Oregonian reported.

Portland currently hosts 17 smaller data centers but no hyperscale facilities, according to the city council resolution. Statewide, an estimated 144 data centers operate in Oregon.

The early assistance application is a preliminary step in Portland's permitting process. No hearing date or full permit timeline for the MD-PDX2 project has been announced.