COEUR d'ALENE - The Coeur d'Alene School District's former district office is going to be demolished, but before that is done officials want to make sure the public has a chance to salvage what they want before hauling the debris to the landfill.

"We've already salvaged what we know we can use," said Bryan Martin, the maintenance director for the district. "And now we want to open it up to the public to come in and see if there is anything they can use."

The district is going to demolish the old brick building later this year, but Martin said he is hoping to save the district some money by auctioning off some of the vintage fixtures first.

Everything is on the auction block - from the bricks to the old boiler in the basement.

"We even have an old walk-in safe," Martin said, adding that someone might want to use it to build a gun locker or something.

Light fixtures, windows, desks, laminate flooring, rows of shelving, rooms full of pine and maple wood cabinets, and several fully equipped bathrooms, complete with '50s-era cast bathtubs and toilets. They even have a high efficiency gas furnace with a condenser in the basement.

"Everything is still in good working order," Martin said. "But with some of the requirements today, we can't use any of this stuff in our modern schools."

He said they're hoping to tap into a growing retro-remodeling market with the older fixtures, and they really are hoping the bricks will sell to someone as well.

"We are hoping to find someone who wants the brick," he said. "Even if someone wants to come in and buy a few bricks for the historic value, but we also hope someone may have a commercial use for them."

Martin said whatever they don't sell will have to be disposed of at the county landfill, and that could get expensive.

"That really is a big expense," he said. "You have to pay by the ton to dispose of it."

Successful bidders will be required to sign a release of liability and they will have a week to dismantle and remove what they purchased. Some items, such as the old boiler in the basement, may take a little more time and effort to remove.

"We will definitely work with someone on that," Martin said, adding that the district wants the property removed as soon as possible so they can remove some asbestos, and grant the fire department some time for specialized training in the building.

Total cost for the removal of the building will be between $60,000 and $80,000, and they know they won't raise that much at the auction, but anything they do raise will be used to offset those costs.

The district is removing the "sick building," which used to be a convent for nuns at St. Thomas Catholic Church, to provide room for the expansion of Sorensen Magnet School.

If you go

The Coeur d'Alene School District is planning to auction off all of the old fixtures and building material in its old district office before razing the building later this year.

The auction will be held April 13 at 10 a.m. The public can view the auction items from 2 to 6 p.m. on Thursday April 11, and Friday April 12. A final one-hour viewing will take place from 9 to 10 a.m. the morning of the auction.