The historic federal courthouse in downtown Des Moines will be sold in an online auction that begins at noon Monday, March 3, the U.S. General Services Administration’s website shows.

Bidding begins at $60,000; bidding for the property at 123 E. Walnut St. ends at noon April 21.

The GSA, which manages the government’s properties including their sale, regularly holds online and other auctions to sell excess federal property.

The historic building, constructed between 1927 and 1929, is considered excess property.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa occupies the courthouse and had leased space in a privately owned building at 110 E. Court Ave. The lease expired a year ago. Several of the federal judicial divisions that had been located in the office building have been relocated to a new courthouse at 111 Locust St., said Chandlor Collins, the southern district’s clerk of court.

Among the divisions that are now in the new building are the bankruptcy court, probation services and Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Collins said construction is continuing in some areas of the new courthouse. He said offices located in the historic courthouse will likely be relocated in mid- to late spring.

The five-level, 66,765-square-foot courthouse on East Walnut Street is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is one of seven monumental public buildings constructed along the Des Moines River in the early 1900s.

Three other monumental buildings — City Hall at 400 Robert D. Ray Drive, the Argonne Armory building at 602 Robert D. Ray Drive and the police station at 25 E. Court Ave. — also could have new uses. The city of Des Moines owns the three buildings. It is relocating offices in the buildings to the former Nationwide building at 1200 Locust St.

The city of Des Moines plans to retain ownership of the historic City Hall after it relocates its offices to 1200 Locust St., Carrie Kruse, economic development administrator with the city of Des Moines, said last year. The city would like to lease the building.

Also, the city has received a proposal from Des Moines Performing Arts for redevelopment of the Armory Building. The city will eventually sell the police station, Kruse has said.