NATCHEZ — Those who opposed the sale of the former pecan factory site to condo developers by the City of Natchez have run out of legal options.

The Mississippi Supreme Court denied a rehearing of the issue, essentially reaffirming an early-April hearing in which the high court ruled the city had the right to sell the land to Worley-Brown, LLC, in 2006.

The suit, filed by a group of citizens, alleged the city sold the land for less than its market value when Worley-Brown bought it for $500,000.

Worley-Brown, a development partnership between Larry Brown Jr. and Edward Worley, wants to develop multi-story luxury condos on the property, near the Natchez bluffs.

Gwen Ball, one of the citizens involved in the suit, declined to comment on the court’s decision.

Worley-Brown’s attorney, Tim Waycaster, said he had anticipated the high court’s denial of the rehearing.

“It was basically a unanimous decision against the plaintiffs, so I didn’t expect for the rehearing to go through,” Waycaster said.

To continue with the condo development, however, Worley-Brown will first have to get a permit from the Department of Archives and History, a matter that is still pending in the Hinds County Circuit Court.

The pecan factory site was designated a Mississippi landmark before the factory was demolished, so the MDAH has jurisdiction over the property.

The attorneys involved are in the process of preparing legal briefs, and Waycaster said he expects the court to hear the matter later this summer.