New Developments: A Personal Story of Resilience and Community

I grew up in Old Town, just off Charlotte Street. In 2001, my world was turned upside down when I lost my mother to cancer. I was only 21 years old. Just five months later, 9/11 shook the entire world, and the tourism industry—like so many others—was forever changed.

Life had shifted drastically, but one thing remained clear to me: I needed to stay rooted in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

At a time when leaving town for the city might have seemed like the easier option, my grief made me cling even tighter to the community that surrounded me with love and support.

That decision brought us to phase one of Niagara-on-the-Green. At the time, many didn’t consider it to be “truly” part of Niagara-on-the-Lake. Some residents commented that the only thing tying it to NOTL was the postal code. Others criticized the homes, saying they were cheaply built by a Mississauga developer. None of that mattered to me. What mattered was staying close to home—close to the community that had carried us through the hardest season of our lives.

For 15 years, we lived in Glendale. It was there that I started my family, raising my first child in the same town that raised me. When it was time to move closer to schools, my husband and I purchased our home in Virgil. Once again, a new development gave me the opportunity to remain in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

These developments were more than houses—they were lifelines. They allowed me to remain part of a community that has always been more like family. They were steppingstones that helped me rebuild a life after loss, raise a family, and remain connected to the place I have always called home.

Today, that “new development” in Niagara-on-the-Green is 25 years old. It has become a thriving part of the five villages that make up Niagara-on-the-Lake. What some once dismissed has grown into a cornerstone of our community.

For me, it’s proof of something bigger: new developments don’t just build houses—they build futures. They allow people, like me, to stay connected to the places and people who matter most.