SW Calgary condo buiilding remains closed as a precaution

As the city awaits an engineering report on the latest Beltline sinkhole, a city official says more sinkholes have been cropping up lately and hopes builders don't leave open pits unfilled for long.

Residents of a condo building at 313 13th Avenue S. W. are still barred from returning to their homes because the structure hasn't been deemed safe.

Thirteen residents were forced to leave Friday after a sinkhole was discovered in a parking lot at the rear of the building.

Kevin Griffiths, the city's manager of building regulations, said Monday that residents won't be allowed back in until the structure has been deemed safe.

Griffiths said he's dealt with more sinkholes over the past few years as Calgary went through a building frenzy.

"Historically, they haven't been that common," he said. "But it's starting to become more and more of an issue."

Now that a falling real estate market has stalled some projects even as they're under development, Griffiths said it's important that open pits not be left as they are.

"We are looking for those projects completing as soon as possible," he said. "What will actually stabilize (the site) is for the structure to be in place."

City officials were due Monday to receive a report on whether an adjacent development project, Centuria on the Park, led to the sinkhole's appearance, but it didn't arrive. The project, spearheaded by Calgary-based Lake Placid Developments, broke ground a year and a half ago and is still in the construction phase.

Michael Lobsinger, Jr., vice-president of operations for the company, said gravel has already been poured into the sinkhole, which fire officials said was 3.5 metres wide and roughly three metres deep.

Both Lobsinger and the city were waiting for the engineering report to assess how well the gravel was working.

"From what we understand, it was a fairly minor breach and can be easily replaced," he said.

Friday's discovery marks the third time a hole has been found near the site in the past 10 months. The first appeared last July, when a sinkhole in the back parking lot forced an evacuation over fears the building was unstable.The second was found last fall on 2nd Street, between 13th and 14th avenues, and was repaired by the city's roads department.

No connection has been found so far between the development and the holes.

Friday's discovery was the second sinkhole found in the Beltline in a week.

Fourth Street S. W. between 10th and 11th avenues is still closed as city officials and another developer try to pinpoint the cause of a sinkhole at the Gateway-Midtown development.