This was no garden variety standoff.

Nolita’s beloved Elizabeth Street Garden was saved in a deal with City Hall announced Monday — but there’s a catch in the deal to end the 12-year battle to spare the greenspace from the wrecking ball.

The garden had been scheduled to be paved over for senior housing but the city has agreed to build 600 affordable units at three alternative locations though the deal is contingent on rezoning some of those properties, officials said.

“It was a combination of a lot of things,” said Joseph Reiver, executive director of the Elizabeth Street Garden of the effort to spare the spot. “I think there were a million pieces that made this beautiful puzzle.”

The Elizabeth Street Garden in Nolita in Lower Manhattan. Stephen Yang for the New York Post

New Yorkers enjoy the Elizabeth Street Garden. Stephen Yang for the New York Post

Reiver said the community’s focus, the legal team and City Hall’s willingness to compromise led to the deal finally getting done.

Under the agreement, the private garden must be publicly accessible between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily. If the city chooses, the space will be under the purview of the parks department.

The fight for the 20,000-square-foot garden was spared when a project called Haven Green was announced, which would’ve built 123 units of senior affordable housing as well as retail and office space.

The new plan – which follows “months” of negotiations between City Council member Christopher Marte, Mayor Eric Adams and First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro – calls for 123 units of senior affordable housing at a “shovel-ready” lot at 156-166 Bowery, which was once slated for market-rate luxury housing.

In addition, about 200 more units of affordable housing are planned for city-owned property at 22 Suffolk St. and at least 300 units of affordable housing units at 100 Gold St., officials said. Marte said the compromise actually resulted into more units — representing the largest influx of new affordable housing in more than 40 years.

New Yorkers walk through a path of sculptures at the Elizabeth Street Garden on Monday.

“This incredible win-win for our community shows exactly why we should never give up and settle for crumbs,” Marte said in a statement.

There’s one catch though — if the rezoning of the alternate locations hits a dead end, City Hall can still evict the garden.

Rezoning is expected to take between six to nine months, a garden rep said.

The original plan, dubbed Haven Green, called for 123 units of senior affordable housing to replace the 20,000-square-foot Elizabeth Street Garden, as well as retail and office space.

Further discussions will be held to determine if Elizabeth Street Garden will be paying the back rent it owes to the city, according to Mastro.

The mayor meanwhile praised the deal as a pro affordable housing move.

“The agreement announced today will help us meet that mission by creating more than five times the affordable housing originally planned while preserving a beloved local public space and expanding access to it,” Adams said.

Longtime Manhattan resident Kim Kalesti told The Post she was “delighted” by the announcement. Nicole Rosenthal/NY Post

Rezoning of the alternate sites is expected to take between six to nine months, a garden rep said. Nicole Rosenthal/NY Post

rench tourist Octavie Drevon told The Post she stumbled upon the garden with her friend, Manhattan resident Emily Smith, by chance on Monday. Nicole Rosenthal/NY Post

Kim Kalesti, a 40-year Nolita resident, said she was “delighted” by the news and was “basking in the joy of winning.” 

“It looks like a small win, but it actually gives a lot of people hope,” said Kalesti, a jazz singer and garden regular.

The deal rankled some housing advocates because of the loss of units at the site but Mastro praised the agreement for bringing “parties together to achieve even better outcomes.”

“In our city, we have to provide affordable housing, [but] we also have to provide green space,” Mastro said, “going to a quality of life that we can all enjoy