Construction on Portland housing complex progresses as neighbors continue court battle
PORTLAND, Maine — Construction crews are pressing ahead with a controversial 50-unit apartment complex in the Riverton neighborhood, even as a small group of residents continues its legal battle to halt or scale back the project.
Belfort Landing, developed by Alex Coupe, consists of two buildings on a 1.5-acre parcel behind Moran's Market along Forest Avenue. The development sits near the Gerald E. Talbot Community School and borders Belfort Street, where some neighbors have watched construction unfold with frustration.
In March, a Superior Court judge upheld the planning board's approval of the project, clearing the way for work to begin. Coupe said Thursday that one building has been fully framed and crews have started work on the second structure.
"They're holding onto this, and have no legal leg to stand on," Coupe said of the ongoing court challenge.
The neighbors, along with Moran's Market owners, filed a seven-count civil complaint in an effort to block the development. Six of those counts have already been decided or dismissed. The remaining claim argues that the city improperly rezoned the property in 2024, characterizing the decision as an "eleventh-hour spot-zoning" made at the owner's request without adequate public notice.
The Larsen family, which owns Moran's Market, sold the land to Coupe in 2022. The rezoning occurred two years later as part of Portland's comprehensive ReCode initiative, which was designed to encourage multifamily housing along corridors like Forest Avenue.
City officials maintain the rezoning was a lawful legislative action by the City Council and aligns with the municipality's comprehensive plan, which prioritizes housing development in transit-accessible areas.
A recent ruling in August addressed a separate dispute between Coupe and Moran's Market over an existing easement governing the market's parking lot. Coupe's plans call for a paved walkway connecting the development to a bus shelter along Forest Avenue, passing through the easement area.
Justice Thomas McKeon determined that the bus shelter would not interfere with the market's easement rights, provided the walkway does not obstruct parking, snow removal, or the market's ability to construct a building in that area later.
Liz Berg, vice president of Friends of Riverton, said the ruling fails to settle the underlying tension.
"Now every action, it doesn't matter which party, the other's going to have to contest it," Berg said.
Coupe interpreted the decision differently, viewing it as a win that allows the walkway and bus shelter to proceed as designed.
City Councilor Kate Sykes, who represents the Riverton area, supported the rezoning during ReCode as part of a broader vision to create neighborhood centers—mixed-use areas combining housing and local businesses.
"I had my sights definitely on Riverton as a neighborhood center, to see it grow as a place that wasn't just a fly-through," Sykes said.
She acknowledged that as more developments utilize ReCode zoning changes, conflicts are likely to continue.
"We're transitioning into a different looking city," she said.
A decision on the remaining zoning claim is not expected until sometime this fall. City staff declined to comment, citing the active litigation.
