MacGregor Albert, Waterloo

MacGregor Albert is a heritage conservation district, protected since 2008 for its early settlers and historic homes. Along Albert Street, front porches sit close to the sidewalk, and on summer evenings the street is calm and green. The Main Library and the small Carnegie Green stand among the houses, a quiet place to sit with a book. At the top of the neighbourhood, the lawns of Wilfrid Laurier University open out along University Avenue. The tennis courts and ball diamonds of Waterloo Park are a few minutes' walk west.

MacGregor Albert forms part of the City's Central planning district. The City's 2021 census profile counts about 6,100 homes in that district. About half are in apartment buildings of five storeys or more, about one in five in apartment buildings under five storeys, and about one in five are single detached houses. The district's historic homes are conserved under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act, and exterior changes follow the heritage district plan. In the 2021 census, more than eight in ten homes in the surrounding area, which takes in the newer buildings to the north, were built after 2001.

Laurier–Waterloo Park ION station is about 0.7 km away, and Waterloo Public Square station about 0.9 km. Grand River Transit's 7 King, 8 Weber, 12 Westmount, 19 Hazel and 29 Keats-University routes run nearby, along with the 202 University iXpress. Wilfrid Laurier University's main campus is about 0.2 km away.

The Main Library, at 35 Albert Street, sits beside Carnegie Green. Albert Green is a small green on Albert Street. Waterloo Park is about 0.6 km away, with sports fields, a skateboard park, the Waterloo Tennis Club and the Laurel Trail. The Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex is about 0.9 km away. Wilfrid Laurier University began in 1911 as the Evangelical Lutheran Seminary of Canada, and Martin Luther University College shares its campus. The Uptown Public Square is about 0.9 km away. The MacGregor Albert Neighbourhood Association serves the area.

• Empire Public School — JK to Grade 6. The current public elementary school for the area, with French immersion from Grade 2.
• MacGregor Public School — Grades 7 and 8. The middle school, on Central Street in the neighbourhood, continuing French immersion.
• Waterloo Collegiate Institute — Grades 9 to 12. The public secondary school, with French immersion.
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School — JK to Grade 8. The nearest Catholic elementary school.
• St. David Catholic Secondary School — Grades 9 to 12. The nearest Catholic secondary school.