Thanks in part to a rezoning last year, commercial property on Market Street that had been vacant since 2009 was purchased recently, local brokers said.

In March 2014, Wilmington City Council unanimously approved a request to rezone 2317 Market St. from its office and institutional designation to a community business conditional district, a change the seller sought to help facilitate a sale, said Tyler Pegg, a broker with The Cress Group of Coldwell Banker Commercial Sun Coast Partners.

“The interest we were getting from potential buyers was for retail uses,” which the new zoning allows, Pegg said. The property used to be The English Garden, a garden center and retail space that closed in 2009. 

Pegg and colleague Cody Cress represented the seller, Margaux Pezza, in the transaction while Trisha Browne of Live Oak Real Estate represented the buyer, Dali Chama LLC. Cindee Wolf, owner of Design Solutions, served as the applicant for the rezoning request.

Dali Chama LLC paid $230,000 for the property, according to a deed filed in March with New Hanover County. The property consists of a 1,368-square-foot main building with parking in the back, and a small greenhouse, tool shed, gardening shed and pump house, all on a little less than an acre, according to marketing materials.  

The English Garden opened in 1988. After certain office and institutional zoning rules changed several years ago, The English Garden’s use was allowed to continue as long as there were no changes to the site, according to the city’s planning department. 

The new owner was unavailable to comment on future plans for the property, Browne said.