SAN DIEGO — Residents of The La Jolla Terrace Condominium Complex are living in a hotel courtesy of the City of San Diego after a massive sink hole developed up against the property along Gilman Drive.

“For an abundance of safety, they wanted us all to leave within three hours, and I freaked,” a resident who didn’t want to be shown on TV told FOX 5. He lives in one of the eight units impacted by the sinkhole. He says looking from the front of the building, the entire structure appears to be faltering.

“There’s cracks on the outside of the building and I’ve been inside the units and there are several cracks this obvious the building is leaning,” he said.

The sinkhole first opened up in March. City crews determined it was the result of a failing portion of massive storm drain pipe. According to the city, they immediately began working to repair the pipe, which is about 35 feet underground, but right next to the condo. That’s when residents started to notice structural changes and began sounding the alarm.

“They started shoring up the ground to fix the sinkhole that is right next to the building – 40 feet down and I’m pretty sure when you take up out all that earth to put the shoring in something happen in the ground, basically one end of the building, just leaning into the sinkhole.”

Making matters worse, when Tropical Storm Hillary hit San Diego in August with a record amount of rain, a second sink hole developed in the same area. That’s when the city agreed to pay for residents to stay in a nearby hotel.

The city issued a statement which reads in part, “vacating these buildings is necessary until we can determine the cause and extent of the current damages and complete the repair process. We will continue working diligently to assess the situation and provide a solution as quickly as possible.“