As the founder of Greenville Yoga, Liz Delaney likes to say that her primary goal when teaching yoga is to help people alleviate their pain.

In that case, she probably could’ve picked a better spot for Greenville Yoga’s new location.

“There were more than a few hoops to jump through, I’ll say that,” Delaney said.

But she couldn’t help it. When she first spotted the dilapidated service station garage at 3221 Old Buncombe Road — the former home of Gotta Go Tires — Delaney fell in love.

“I drove by this place, and it was loaded with tires, oil drums, shipping containers, tow truck parts — a little dirty, and a little nasty, to be honest,” Delaney said. “So when I found out it was for sale, of course I bought it right away.”

Seeing through its hard-worn facade, Delaney envisioned what the place would look like with a little tender loving care. The mid-century modern style of the building, the stone work out front, the angled windows, the big garage doors: It seemed the perfect location for her mom-and-pop yoga studio, a community gathering place where people could exhale and relax.

But first, Delaney had her work cut out for her.

In the time since she bought the building, Delaney has been schooling herself in the art of environmental disposal and impact reports.

The tires, oil drums and rusty old truck parts were the first to go, with the seller of the building working with the county to find environmentally safe ways to dispose of the debris. Soil was removed and replaced. A civil engineer was hired, because the site was technically on a flood plane, and so they needed to legally ensure that the work wouldn’t kill off any rare species of fish (the conclusion: The fish will be perfectly fine).

Two months ago, Delaney submitted everything to the county, and as of last week, the plans have been officially approved.

She plans to open the new space this fall, likely in October.

Delaney has been conducting yoga sessions mostly via Zoom, having temporarily closed Greenville Yoga’s location on North Main Street due to the coronavirus, but she said it was a happy accident that the new location will be so much more open, with an outdoor area easily accessible with the garage door.

“We’re really excited to get back into a neighborhood and to be out within the community,” she said. “It was kind of a risk, taking this old building and turning it into something new, but based on how good I feel right now, I know it’s going to pay off.”

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