Kansas University will be auctioning off a three-story building this weekend at 1043 Ind.

The former Varsity House building was built around 1900 and converted to office space after the late 1950s. The auction is scheduled for noon Saturday at the property.

Lynn Bretz, a KU spokeswoman, said the neighborhood, the city and the university all had no desire to let the building sit indefinitely, and a structure in need of repair sitting vacant can become a fire and safety hazard.

The property has a Douglas County appraised value of $411,330, according to the auctioneer’s Web site.

KU officials have estimated the cost of renovating the structure into usable office space could be more than $600,000. It would need to be ADA compliant, have an elevator, among other repairs.

Repairing the building was not feasible — especially given KU’s other building repair needs — so the decision was made to sell it, Bretz said. At the request of the neighborhood, the university agreed to sell lots next to the 6,180-square-foot house to accommodate parking needs.

Carol von Tersch, a board member of the Oread Neighborhood Association who lives near the property, said the neighborhood had been asking the university to sell the property for some time.

She said the university had worked well with the association throughout the process.

She said that she anticipated the property would garner wide interest.

“I don’t think there will be any shortage of bidders,” she said.