The Preston Meadows community in Cambridge, Ontario is Canada’s first pilot neighbourhood to be fully certified as a LEED Neighbourhood Development (ND).

Reid’s Heritage Homes purchased 10 acres of land and then worked with the City of Cambridge and Region of Waterloo for three years to clean the brownfield site.

The former Kanmet industrial land is now home to 82 townhomes and two apartment buildings, including 117 apartment units of affordable rental and for-sale housing.

“The Preston Meadows community has replaced a tired industrial brownfield site that needed a new life, and we are delighted to see what they’ve done with the land,” said City of Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig. “Collaborating with them was a pleasure, and we hope to see them do many more leading environmental communities in the future.”

A LEED-ND program was launched in Canada between 2008 and 2009 and Preston Meadows was one of the first projects to apply, ultimately completing all three certification stages.

Some requirements of the certification included protecting local waterways and floodplains, creating a better connected neighbourhood through increased and open density and ensuring a good mix of housing types and sizes.