VANCOUVER -- A crowd gathered outside the Congee Noodle House near the intersection of Main Street and Broadway Friday night, as what appeared to be a large sinkhole opened up between a construction site and the restaurant's back parking lot.
In a statement, the Lon LaClaire, chief engineer for the City of Vancouver, said the hole was the result of "an issue regarding excavation at a private development site at 138 E. Eighth Ave."
"The side of the excavation wall caved in which compromised the adjacent surface parking lot, as well as the storm connection on site," LaClaire said.
The city learned of the incident late in the afternoon Friday, he said.
There were no injuries or damage in the incident, and a geotechnical assessment confirms there's no risk to the surrounding buildings, LaClaire said.
Mathew Sam, who lives in the area, told CTV News Vancouver a crowd of people had gathered at the scene around 8:30 p.m. to look at the hole and take pictures.
“There’s a bunch of rubble and it looks like part of the parking lot just slid down into the hole," he said.
LaClaire said the city has "secured" the site and closed the south side of the sidewalk as a precaution.
The city will determine "next steps" in conjunction with WorkSafe BC and the developer's engineer, he said.
The construction site is the future home a luxury condo development. City planning documents show the building is intended to be six storeys high, with 18 residential units, ground-floor retail, and two levels of underground parking accessed via a car elevator in the laneway.
