HATFIELD — A condemned home at 320 West St., subject to a demolition order from the town, is heading to a foreclosure auction later this month.

The property, which had been owned by late Korean War veteran George W. Emeny Jr. since 1978, will be sold May 28 at 3 p.m. by PHH Mortgage Corp., of Washington, D.C., through its attorney Korde & Associates, P.C. of Lowell.

For many years, the home has been in poor shape, with challenges to the plumbing and electricity, obstructed exits and accumulation of garbage attracting rodents and other pests. In January 2021, the town’s health agent posted signs reading “these premises unfit for human habitation,” leading Emeny, who was facing eviction from the home and a Housing Court hearing, to live in his vehicle with his dog CC and his cat Pumpkin.

A month later, many in the community rallied around the then 86-year-old Emeny, who died last July, with electricians, plumbers and carpenters among those making repairs, and other volunteers removing items from both inside the home, and the cluttered yard.

Emeny’s property has been a frequent topic for the Board of Health. Last October, the board was provided an update on the mortgage company’s efforts to winterize the property. Then, in December, the health board was presented photographs from the health agent showing the residence “in very bad shape,” and the town’s Water Department was instructed to turn off water to the home.

The property, at the corner of Routes 5 & 10 and North Hatfield Road, is near the Hatfield Pub and the 186 North Hatfield Road site where a landscaping business, Western Earthworks LLC has received Planning Board approval to construct a prefabricated metal building and a storage yard for materials.

Emeny was a flight instructor at Northampton Airport, flew airplanes for the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and had a studio inside his home where he painted sailing ships on canvas.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.