Preston Legion looks to rebuild for accessibility and ‘future generations’
Posted Oct 30, 2025 07:11:23 AM.
Last Updated Oct 30, 2025 12:10:41 PM.
Some major changes are on the way for the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 126 in Preston, looking to tear down its current site to make way for the construction of a brand new building.
Located at 334 Westminster Dr. N. in Cambridge, the structure is currently a two-floor building, but Joe Gowing, the president of the Preston Legion, said it’s just not manageable for its members who use it regularly.
He said that many with accessibility issues are having a tough time navigating the building, which has not been properly constructed to accommodate their needs.
“If anybody wanted to get from one floor to the other, they would actually have to go outside, up the ramp or down the ramp to either up or downstairs,” Gowing said. “It’s not really convenient, so it’s going to be all on one level.”
He said discussions have been made about the future of the building, involving potential repairs to the current site. At a $1 million price tag, it’s more of a band-aid solution that could still see future costs down the road, Gowing explained.
“‘Lipstick on a pig’ is the term I like to use,” Gowing mentioned. “We’re looking into the future and, for the future needs, it is better to do it now than wait. Our membership has decided the same.”
Instead, Gowing said it would be more manageable and cost-effective to tear down the current site and start from the ground up, still constructing the new location at the same location.
He stated that a newly constructed building, pegged at around $3.2 million, would allow the legion to integrate various other ideas it has had to build a more well-rounded and complete site for the Preston Legion.
Gowing stated that it would have immediate, impactful improvements for its current members as well as for future members down the road.
“There are a lot of members that need the accessibility and, like I said, it’s not convenient for them to get from one floor to the other. If we were all on one floor, it just makes sense, and the investment in this building will be for future generations.”
He mentioned that, when introduced to the idea, many of the current members were in full support of the new change, with discussions with engineers and contractors already underway on what the new building could look like.
He said that it’s still fairly early in the process, but right now, Gowing said they’re hoping to be fully set up and ready to debut the new building sometime in 2027.
