Norwich - A prominent historic downtown apartment building with a checkered recent history will go up for auction March 9 in a mortgage foreclosure sale ordered by New London Superior Court.

The five-story, 21-unit Fairhaven Apartment building at 26-28 Broadway is scheduled to be auctioned at noon on March 9, with an open house preview of the building slated for 10 a.m. The building, across Broadway from the renovated Wauregan Hotel apartment complex, also has two storefronts.

The 1900 brick building has been vacant since July 2009, when city officials condemned the building for numerous building and safety violations, displacing about two dozen residents. Since then, city officials have had to remove vagrants from the building, and vandals have caused serious damage to the building that had undergone a major renovation several years ago.

Fairhaven Apartments LLC, a Boston area partnership, purchased the previously condemned building in 2003 and undertook a $100,000 renovation. The building reopened in 2006, but quickly fell into disrepair over the next three years.

Banco Popular North America foreclosed on the $1.3 million mortgage, and New London Superior Court judge Emmet Cosgrove ordered the foreclosure auction on Jan. 2. North Stonington attorney Scott D. Camassar was appointed as the committee of sale for the auction.

A minimum deposit of $30,000 by bank check or certified check is required at the auction for the building, valued at $300,000.

The building qualifies for financial assistance through three downtown revitalization programs approved by Norwich voters in 2010, said Jackie Roy, program manager for the Norwich Community Development Corp. The programs include a matching grant of up to $100,000 for building code renovations, a lease rebate program once the building reopens and a business loan program.

c.bessette@theday.com