WESTBROOK — The U.S. National Bank Association bought back One Riverfront Plaza for $9.2 million at auction.

The building, which has been vacant for over a year, was auctioned Feb. 17. The U.S. National Bank Association oversaw the auction after filing a foreclose notice Jan. 4 at the Cumberland County Registry of Deeds.

The auction, which was conducted by Samantha Saperstein of the Holbrook, Massachusetts-based Paul E. Saperstein Co., had an opening bid of $7 million. Art Girard, a Portland-based commercial real estate owner and developer, was the only registered bidder.

Nathan Warecki, an attorney with Nixon Peabody LLC, of Manchester, New Hampshire, represented the U.S. National Bank Association at the auction and quickly placed a competing bid against Girard. The auction, which started at 11 a.m., lasted less than 10 minutes.

Warecki declined to comment on the bank’s decision to purchase the building.

The 134,000-square-foot, six-story brick building has been vacant since insurers Disability RMS moved to South Portland in November 2015. Disability RMS had occupied a large portion of the building, built in 2004.

The foreclosure of the building came a day after the expiration of a receivership order allowing Portland-based CBRE/The Boulos Co. to commercially market the Bridge Street building now primarily owned by Pendleton Westbrook LLC.

The city has valued the building, on 0.85 acres, with some Presumpscot River frontage, at $20.55 million, according to city tax records. Those records also show Pendleton Westbrook bought One Riverfront Plaza for $23.5 million in 2005.

One Riverfront Plaza was sold by builder Tim Flannery to its present owners about a year after it opened. At the time, Flannery said he had not sought to sell the building, but received an offer that made sense to accept.

A week prior to the auction Mayor Mike Sanphy had said he was hoping a new business would buy the building because it would be “a great boost to the downtown.” On the Wednesday following the auction he said he was “puzzled” and “cautiously optimistic” that the bank has a plan for the building.

“We’re kind of skeptical,” he said. “We’re holding our breath to see what they come back with.”

Sanphy said he and City Administrator Jerre Bryant haven’t heard any details about next steps regarding the future of the building.

“I’m hoping they have some sort of game plan,” he said.

For now, though, the building and its future seem “stalled,” Sanphy said.

“I don’t think we’ve progressed too far,” he said. “We’re back to square one.”

Kate Gardner can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 125 or kgardner@theforecaster.net. Follow her on Twitter: @katevgardner.

One Riverfront Plaza in Westbrook was bought back at auction by the U.S. National Bank Association for $9.2 million.

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