BELOIT, Wis. -- Beloit's vacant courthouse is headed for the auction block Wednesday.

The auction will take place Wednesday at 1 p.m. on the old Beloit Courthouse steps. There will be a viewing process at 9 a.m. before the auction.

Rock County officials closed the courthouse in 2000 and moved court functions to Janesville to cut costs.

Supervisors considered upgrading the vacant facility to house county agencies but voted in 2005 to auction off the building instead.

Dean George, whose auction service will conduct the auction, said it's hard to estimate how much the courthouse will bring in because buildings like that aren't usually auctioned. He speculates the price tag will be in the $300,000 range.

But the list price is only a formality. Realtors said the auction is the true litmus test for the property's value, WISC-TV reported.

George said the courthouse is a three-story, 31,000-square-foot structure built in 1960.

He said a buyer could consider renovating the interior and renting its 60 offices as office space.