Laurie White is holding on tight to 13 years of memories. Memories that sit in her backyard
"I have paintings on my fence from when my mom died to my cats, my dogs," White said. "I have ashes back buried back in there."
Paw prints line the tree for her pets that have passed away. A heart painting and a flower bouquet symbolize White’s late mom. How she has to leave it all?
"April 29th, I have to be out by the city," she said.
Laurie’s apartment is one the City of Cape Coral is tearing down for the Bimini Basin Project. Triton Court, a street she once enjoyed living on, is filled with empty lots now.
"You can see I have no neighbors anymore, so I live here alone," she said. "That's pretty scary every night, too."
For months, the city has been knocking down apartments next to the Bimini Basin south of Cape Coral Parkway. Hers will soon be next.
City council voted on money for demolishing three places along Triton Court and one along Manor Court. The plan is to build multi-family units, single-family homes, and office buildings. The total cost of demolishing all the buildings in this project is nearly $2 million.
"To be quite honest with you, the real estate market has slowed dramatically, and there are tons of homes for sale that are sitting on the market for six to nine months," said Cape Coral part-time resident Terry Otoole. "I just don't think they need more at this time. I think they need to step back, take a break, fix the traffic situation before they start building again."
The project also includes Bimini Square, a few blocks down the road from those apartments that will be torn down. It's where new apartments, restaurants and Lee Health will have a new office.
"As someone not from Cape Coral, I think the city really needs some new things for the families," said Cape Coral resident Deborah Martinez.
Joe Kennedy also likes the additions.
"Well, this whole part of Cape Coral here, I think, is kind of undergoing a financial, neighborhood boom, with all the new housing that's coming in," Kennedy said.
While change is inevitable, it doesn’t change the fact that people like White are losing what they loved.
"I know it's just a apartment, but to me, it was more than just an apartment," she said. "I thought I was going to grow old here and stay here."