TIM KELLY PHOTO | The Orient Point Lighthouse in Plum Gut is being auctioned off by the federal General Services Administration, but local lighthouse preservation organizations don’t have the money to buy it.

The federal General Services Administration is still looking for a buyer for the Orient Point Lighthouse, the black and white striped, cast iron-plated tower that warns mariners of the underwater rocks on the western side of Plum Gut.

The GSA first announced its plan to sell the lighthouse, which stands on a tiny, rocky island less than half a nautical mile from Orient Point, last summer.

At the time, members of the East End Seaport Museum and Marine Foundation, which had just merged with East End Lighthouses, said they were interested, but the project has since proven financially untenable for them.

“We looked at it, we visited it and met with the GSA, but it’s just too much for our budget,” said East End Seaport president Ron Breuer,

The GSA has received five bids on the property. The most recent, for $30,000, came in Aug. 27.

GSA spokesman Patrick Sciafani confirmed this week that the auction of the property is still open and not yet scheduled to close.

The 45-foot-tall lighthouse was built in 1899 on a concrete-filled cast iron caisson, according to the bid specifications on the GSA’s auction website, realestatesales.gov. It has six levels, including two watch decks and three stories of living quarters.

The eventual owner will need to allow the U.S. Coast Guard access to maintain the light and fog signals, as well as solar panels and batteries.

GSA is also looking to sell the one-acre Little Gull Island, seven miles east of Orient Point and directly east of Plum Island.

The light station at Little Gull Island, established in 1869, contains a sound signal that blasts every 15 seconds.

There have been two bids on Little Gull Island, the most recent for $60,000.

Prospective owners can place their bids on the GSA’s website.

byoung@timesreview.com