Preston Centre, Cambridge

Preston Centre is the heart of old Preston, near where the Speed River flows into the Grand. John Erb, a Mennonite settler, built a sawmill here in 1806, and the village grew around King Street. Today the main street's shops and cafés sit in brick storefronts, and on summer evenings people stroll toward the river. The Bob McMullen Linear Trail follows the Speed through a long green park, with the sound of water never far away. Central Park, the Preston library and the historic Preston Auditorium are all a short walk apart.

The 2021 census counted about 4,600 homes in Preston Centre. About two in five are single detached houses. Apartment buildings under five storeys make up nearly three in ten, apartment buildings of five storeys or more about one in ten, and row houses about one in ten. Nearly half the homes were built in 1960 or earlier, and nearly a quarter between 1961 and 1980.

Grand River Transit's 50 Dundas-Myers, 56 Langs, 61 Preston and 67 Eagle-Pinebush routes and the 206 Coronation iXpress serve the neighbourhood. Stage 2 ION, which the Region has approved and is now designing, plans a Preston station in the neighbourhood, about 0.9 km from its centre. Until then, the Cambridge Centre Mall stop on the 302 ION Bus to Fairway ION station in Kitchener is about 2.7 km away. King Street East is the main street, and Highway 401 and Highway 8 are close by, with an interchange at King Street (exit 278).

The Linear Park Natural Area and the Bob McMullen Linear Trail follow the Speed River for about 27 hectares. Central Park is in the neighbourhood, and Sturdy Park, at 825 Lowther Street South, Otto Klotz Park, at 287 Garden Street, and Civic Park, at 575 Margaret Street, have playgrounds. The Preston Auditorium and the Karl Homuth Arena have indoor rinks, and the Ed Newland pool is at 515 William Street. The Preston branch of the Cambridge Public Library is at 435 King Street East, about 0.7 km away. Riverside Park is about 1.6 km away.

• Preston Public School — JK to Grade 6. The public school for the central streets, including William Street and Hamilton Street, on Westminster Drive North.
• Grand View Public School — JK to Grade 6. The public school for the southern streets, including Rose Street and Lowther Street South, on Hamilton Street.
• Coronation Public School — JK to Grade 6. The public school for the northern streets, including Garden Street and Montrose Street North.
• William G. Davis Public School — Grades 7 and 8. The middle school for Preston Centre.
• Preston High School — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school, on Rose Street, in the neighbourhood.
• St. Michael Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school on Concession Road, in the neighbourhood.
• St. Joseph Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The Catholic elementary school on Westminster Drive South, in the neighbourhood.
• St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School — Grades 9 to 12. The nearest Catholic secondary school, about 4.5 km away.