Oct. 2—NORWICH — Two historic Main Street commercial buildings were sold at auction Wednesday to two brothers who recently purchased three lower Broadway buildings to renovate them for apartments.

The buildings at 138-142 and 146 Main St. were owned by long-time local attorney Mark Block through an LLC ownership. Block's law firm, Block, Janney & Sisley, occupies all three floors at 138-142 Main St., while the five-story Plaut-Cadden Building next door at 146 Main has been vacant for years.

Block said he decided to sell the buildings at auction to shed the ownership obligations.

"I've been downtown for 50 years and in that building for 30 years," Block said.

He and one other attorney from the firm and one staff person will move to a leased office in the Sunlight Building on Franklin Street, part of the Norwich Community Development Corp's Foundry 66 shared office complex. Block is NCDC's attorney.

Block said attorney Amanda Sisley will relocate to the firm's Mystic office, which now has three attorneys and one staff person.

Block stood beside real estate broker Ronald Lyman on the Main Street sidewalk as real estate auctioneer Justin Manning called for bids from the four registered bidders. Brothers Alfred and Ernest Tollja prevailed in the back-and-forth bidding that drove the price from the opening bid of $340,000 to the closing price of $380,000.

In January, the Tolljas, of New York, purchased three vacant Broadway buildings under the ownership name TT Investments LLC. They immediately started renovating the apartment buildings at 51-53 Broadway and 59-61 Broadway. One is done and one is almost done, Alfred Tollja said Wednesday. They also purchased the vacant and blighted Fairhaven Building at 26-28 Broadway and are working with NCDC to apply for state assistance to tackle the major renovation needed there.

Alfred Tollja said they plan to renovate the Main Street buildings for apartments on the upper floors and street-level commercial space.

Block declined to comment on the sale following the auction, as the winning bidders entered his office to execute a purchase and sales agreement. Manning announced the target closing date of Nov. 1.

Both buildings are part of the downtown Norwich National Historic District.

While 138-142 appears more modern with a plain brick façade, it is the older of the two, dating to about 1846, Plummer said. Built by Robert Johnson, it housed his hardware store for years until he made way for Bidwell's Shoe and Boot Store. The Johnson family continued to own the building until 1907, when it was sold to Plaut-Cadden team of downtown commercial real estate property owners, according to Norwich city Historian Dale Plummer.

The five-story Plaut-Cadden building was built in 1910 and housed Abraham Plaut's jewelry store, along with musical instruments. Plaut was among the city's early Jewish businessmen, Plummer said.

"The two families (Plaut and Cadden) owned considerable real estate downtown," he said.

The building retains its ornamental façade and the iron "Plaut-Cadden" name beneath the roofline.

Plummer welcomed the prospect that the buildings could be renovated and encouraged the buyers to take advantage of state and federal historic tax credits to assist with the renovations.

"A lot of these buildings could use tax credits," Plummer said. "Tax credits are a great tool, not only federal but state tax credits. This is one of the major advantages that downtown has. Probably 90% of the buildings downtown are eligible for historic tax credits."

c.bessette@theday.com