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April 24, 2025

Portland cold storage contractors file legal claims over unpaid bills

Maine cold storage warehouse on the water File Photo / Jim Neuger The Maine International Cold Storage Facility, as seen from the pier beneath the Casco Bay Bridge connecting Portland and South Portland, opened in February.
By Renee Cordes

Some Maine companies that helped build Portland’s $56 million cold storage warehouse say they haven’t been paid for their work. Three have filed civil lawsuits while another is considering its legal options.

The companies that have filed civil lawsuits include Buxton-based Gorham Sand & Gravel Inc., which is seeking to recover $933,353.34 plus interest and costs; Westbrook-based Epoxy Floors North LLC, which says it is owed $116,831.43; and H.B. Fleming Inc., of South Portland, which claims that it is owed $438,615, excluding interest, for construction services and materials. 

All three complaints name the developer – U.K.-based Amber Infrastructure – and the Illinois-based general contractor, FCL Builders – as defendants, along with the Maine Port Authority as the owner of the land on which the building sits.

The cases, reported on earlier by the Portland Press Herald, were all filed in Cumberland County Superior Court though the H.B. Fleming case has since been transferred to the Business and Consumer Court. 

Another company, Maine Line Fence Co., told Mainebiz that it is mulling its options. The 25-employee business in Cumberland that says it’s still owed $57,290 for building a perimeter chain-link fence and access gates for the facility, located at 40 W. Commercial St. near the Casco Bay Bridge.

“We worked directly for FCL Builders, the general contractor on the project, and we have been paid nothing,” Andy LeConte, general manager and commercial estimator with Maine Line Fence, told Mainebiz in a Thursday phone interview.

A spokesman for FCL Builders did not immediately return a request for comment.

Eivind Dueland, a senior vice president at Amber Infrastructure, did not return a phone call and email seeking comment before this article was published.

Chelsea Pettingill, executive director of the Maine Port Authority, said in an email that “we are protecting the public interest and monitoring the litigation, and hope that the principles come to an agreement and pay for the work done as soon as possible.”

'Negative impact' on small Maine businesses

As Maine Line Fence decides whether to pursue legal action, LeConte said his company aims is to raise awareness about the “negative impact” on Maine-based companies with outstanding bills for work on the project.

“All of the burden of this is falling on a lot of small Maine businesses that may not be able to continue after this if things don’t fall their way,” he said. He also noted that while the facility is operating and generating revenue, the contractors “are not getting any revenue, but yet the operators are allowed to conduct business as usual.”

The 106,000-square-foot structure broke ground in August 2022 and opened in February, with Amber Infrastructure as the sole owner and equity investor and Cincinnati-based Taylor Logistics Inc. managing day-to-day operations.. 

Construction of the warehouse, intended to turn Portland into a regional logistics hub for a range of cargo from food to pharmaceuticals, was financed in part by a $30.9 million loan from the Bank of New England. The Salem, N.H.-.based privately held bank is named as a party of interest in the three lawsuits.

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