Ingersoll, Ontario

INGERSOLL , ONTAR IO Freeman: “We started a Community Improvement Plan a year ago and, because of it, our downtown is vibrant and has very few vacant stores, if any. We would love to have more residential downtown. Like much of small-town Ontario, a lot of the shops have apartments above them but, over the past decades, people have moved out. Now we’re seeing an influx, where people are actually buying the building, opening a business, renovating the upper floors, and living there. The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority limits our ability to spread out in some parts of our downtown, as far as apartment buildings, etc. because the Thames River flows right through the core. But we do have some already.” BVM: What makes Ingersoll a special place to call home? Comiskey: “A few years ago, the town purchased 12 acres of bush for the exclusive idea of putting trails through it, and that development is underway. Every year, we add to our trails system