Danielle Ferguson

dbferguson@argusleader.com

Two days after a building collapse killed a construction worker in downtown Sioux Falls, attention shifted Sunday to an adjacent structure where a hole opened in an exterior wall overnight.

Parts of the interior of the PAve nightclub could be seen after the large hole opened late Saturday night. The building has been evacuated and the business is closed indefinitely.

Search and rescue crews were brought out to the scene after police working the perimeter heard the cave-in, said Emergency Manager Regan Smith. Nobody was injured.

The property manager and a crew are going to the site around 1 p.m. Sunday to take a closer look at the new hole and to continue working on a demolition plan, Smith said.

During rescue operations Friday morning, crews had put up shoring from the PAve and Copper Lounge sides of the building, but the shoring isn't meant to be a permanent thing, Smith said.

The shoring was mainly there to protect first responders and hold up PAve's roof, Smith said. It wasn't expected to uphold the wall for an extended period of time.

"If we didn't put that shoring in, (PAve's) roof would've failed," Smith said.

Crews expected the wall between Copper Lounge and PAve to cave in at some point, he said.

"The weight was eventually going to take it," Smith said. "That area was heavily compromised."

Michael Bender, an owner and managing partner of the building adjacent to PAve on the north, said utilities were restored to their property Saturday and tenants were told they could return.

“As of yesterday, we were told we were able to get back into the building, but we’re going to have a structural engineer look at our building to see if there are any long-term effects.”

“We’ve had lots of communication” with tenants, he added.

Adjacent businesses, including Half Baked, 605 Running Company and Urban Archaeology remained closed Sunday. Half Baked bakery posted on Facebook that it will reopen Tuesday.

Greg Koch, the general manager at 605 Running Company, said businesses were allowed to return to the building but chose to stay out for now.

“We want to allow the first responders and people on the scene an area to work,” he said. “The situation is unprecedented and fluid. We’re just erring on the side of caution.”

Urban Archaeology posted on its Facebook Friday they would be closed "until further notice."

The old Copper Lounge building next to PAve collapsed at 10:30 a.m. Friday after a pair of construction workers was working on renovating it as the building was set to become a Lewis Drug. One worker was able to escape, but Ethan McMahon was found dead about seven hours later. Emily Fodness, 22, who was living in the building, was rescued three hours after it collapsed.

Phillips Ave between 8th and 11th and 10th St. between Second and Main likely will remain closed through the weekend, police said.