Condo emptied over stability worries

Residents of a condo complex on 13th Avenue S.W. next to a stalledconstruction site have been forced out of their homes for the second time while surveyors determine if the building has shifted.

Officials declared Central Park Manor unsafe and evacuated all eight units for the second time in 14 months after they discovered the beginnings of a sinkhole across the street, cracked floors inside the building and a sunken garage behind it.

"They're needing to stabilize the foundation until such time as the building is safe. In other words, until the foundation is stable, the building would remain unoccupied for the safety of the occupants," said Kevin Griffiths, the city's chief building inspector.

The three-story building is adjacent to an excavated hole at the corner of 13th Avenue and Second Street S.W., a site that has sat empty since a plan to build a condominium tower, Centuria on the Park, was postponeda year and a half ago.

But there is no definitive link between the mothballed project and the problems next door, Griffiths added.

Lake Placid Group of Companies, which owns the stalled construction site, thinks the problem a leaky sewer pipe originates at the site of the evacuated building,companypresident Michael Lobsingertold CBC News.

"Lake Placid is now trying to assess the damage the neighbouring property has caused us," he said in a statement.

City officials are not convinced. However they are waiting for an engineering assessment from the owners' insurance company before drawing any conclusions.

"The services on the building have suffered some damage, but the information we have is that it was not contributory to the deterioration of the foundation," said Griffiths.

Sinkholes have appeared several times on land adjacent to the construction pit. Central Park Manor residents were forcedto leave their homes last May for several days before the city determined the building was safe.

Ald. John Mar wants more restrictions put in place so that stalled construction sites are not allowed to sit idle for so long.

"I thinkthat we need to be able to lookat stricter controls, certainly."

Lake Placidsaid the company plans to re-start construction this month, before a deadline passes forcing it to apply for a new building permit.