# Preston Center Apartment Locator | From $1,793 (Oct 2026)
> Preston Center Dallas apartment locator, free to you: 5 communities checked this week, and 1 bedrooms start at $1,793 after specials. See the deals on a map.
URL: https://apartmentlocatordallas.com/neighborhoods/preston-center/
# Preston Center Dallas Apartment Locator: Owner Condos Around the Central Garage
Preston Center is a compact shopping and office district at Preston Road and Northwest Highway, and most of what rents here is condos owned by individuals. The HOA's rules come with every unit: pet limits, minimum lease length, move-in hours and whether subletting is allowed. A few newer units sit in mixed-use buildings with a leasing office, but the list is short in any given month.
## Preston Center apartments by size this week
We checked 5 places in and near Preston Center on November 6, 2026. Prices count any firm free rent, spread over the lease, and are before fees.
- 1 Bedroom: $2,064 a month typical, from $1,793, 5 places with one available, 1 with a special
- 2 Bedroom: $2,648 a month typical, from $1,898, 5 places with one available, 1 with a special
- 3 Bedroom: $3,598 a month typical, from $2,907, 3 places with one available, 1 with a special
- 4 Bedroom: from $5,487, 1 places with one available, 1 with a special
## Preston Center rents this week
We check these numbers every week. Updated November 6, 2026. Where a place has a firm move-in special, its rent counts the free rent spread evenly over the lease. Rents are before fees. 5 communities in and within 1.5 miles of Preston Center had homes available; 1 listed a move-in special. Method: https://apartmentlocatordallas.com/rent-data-methodology/
Our read this week: Newer buildings here cost about $792 more a month than middle age ones, even after their free rent ($2,720 vs. $1,929 for a 1 bedroom). If price matters most, start with the older buildings. You get more space for your money with a 2 bedroom here: about $2.10 a square foot, compared with $2.89 for a 1 bedroom.
| Size | Communities with available apartments | Lowest rent | Middle half | Typical starting rent | Typical $/sq ft | Since November 1 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 bed | 5 | $1,793 | $1,866 to $2,720 | $2,064 | $2.89 | up $10 |
| 2 bed | 5 | $1,898 | $2,235 to $4,427 | $2,648 | $2.10 | no change |
| 3 bed | 3 | $2,907 | n/a | $3,598 | $2.24 | no change |
| 4 bed | 1 | $5,487 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Building class | Communities | Typical 1 bed | $/sq ft | With a special | Typical weeks free |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Newer (Class A) | 3 | $2,720 | $3.49 | 0% | n/a |
| Middle (Class B) | 2 | $1,929 | $1.92 | 50% | n/a |
- Cheapest 1 bedroom here: 1 bed listed from $1,866 (847 sq ft), Class A
- Cheapest 2 bedroom here: 2 bed listed from $2,648 (1259 sq ft), Class B. Special: 6 Weeks Free (48 Hour Look and Lease) (2 Weeks Off 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Full Months Rent)
Rents are the lowest listed price for an available apartment of each size in our weekly check. We leave out income restricted, tax credit, 55+ and student communities. Prices can change any day, so get the final price in writing from the building before you apply.
## Areas we cover inside Preston Center
- **Preston Center Plaza**: The core of Preston Center is a ring of shops and offices around the city's parking garage. It sits just south of Northwest Highway and west of Preston Road. Getting around is mostly by car, but the blocks are short enough to walk once you park.
- **Westchester Drive**: Westchester Drive runs through the middle of Preston Center from Northwest Highway south, past shops, offices and newer midsize apartment and condo buildings. University Park starts just south, and the Tollway is a few blocks west.
- **Pickwick Lane**: Pickwick Lane is a short residential street near Preston Center with condo and apartment buildings set close together. Most rentals are older condos in small buildings, and the Preston Center shops are a short walk.
- **Northwest Highway Corridor**: Northwest Highway (Loop 12) forms Preston Center's north edge, with midsize office, apartment and condo buildings along it. The intersection at Preston Road jams up at rush hour, and the Tollway is the quickest way downtown.
- **Preston Road Corridor**: Preston Road forms the east edge of Preston Center and continues south into University Park and north into Preston Hollow. Pricier shopping lines it near Northwest Highway, with streets of houses just off it.
## Preston Center Apartments Are Mostly Owner Condos Under HOA Rules
- Which rules the HOA sets and which the owner can bend, checked unit by unit
- Sublet bans and HOA review time checked before you get attached to a condo
- Guest parking rules checked, since they change between buildings two blocks apart
- Uptown and North Dallas added when Preston Center has too few homes that fit
## Commutes, Parking, and Transit
Preston Center sits where Preston Road meets Northwest Highway. Preston heads south toward Highland Park Village and north into North Dallas; Northwest Highway runs west to Love Field and east to Central Expressway. The Tollway is a few blocks west and is the quicker way north or south.
No rail stops here. The nearest trains are the Red Line at Lovers Lane and Mockingbird, a short drive east across the Park Cities, so you'll want a car. Expect the corner of Preston and Northwest Highway to back up at every weekday rush. Even for short trips, the Tollway often saves time.
Parking in the district has been argued over for years, but inside a condo building the HOA assigns resident spaces. Guest parking is easy to overlook: the HOA decides how many spots there are, where they are and how long a visitor can stay.
## Condo Rentals and Apartments
Rentals here come in two kinds. Most are condos leased by their owners, and the owner has to follow the HOA rules attached to the unit. You can work out some terms with the owner. Others, like a sublet ban or a minimum lease for the whole building, can't be waived at all.
After the owner says yes, buildings with a formal HOA review add a few more days. If you want a furnished or short stay, a sublet ban can rule a unit out entirely, so we check that first.
The rest, a small share, are newer units in mixed-use buildings with standard screening and terms you can plan on. Rough credit history? Owners can be hard to predict. Uptown and North Dallas have more buildings with written rules, and we look up those rules for you before you pay an application fee.
## Life around Preston Center
Preston Center is a compact shopping district at Preston Road and Northwest Highway. Daily life here means short drives: to SMU, to Highland Park Village, to NorthPark and onto the Tollway.
### Short drives from Preston and Northwest Highway
At 8am, it's about 13 minutes from the district to the Medical District by our count, 15 to Downtown, 22 to Legacy West and 28 to DFW Airport. The Dallas North Tollway runs a few blocks west and is the quick way both north and south. The closest train is the Red Line at Lovers Lane or Mockingbird station, both a few minutes east by car across the Park Cities. Inside the district, park once in the central garage and walk the short blocks.
- **Preston Center** (shopping district): Park in the central garage and walk the short blocks for lunch, errands and coffee without moving the car again.
### Where to get a run in
The Katy Trail's north end is at Mockingbird Station by SMU, a few miles south. From there the paved path runs about 3.5 miles toward Victory Park, with shade most of the way. SMU's campus, just south of the district, has wide lawns and tree lined walks that work for an easy evening loop.
- **Katy Trail** (trail): Begin by Mockingbird Station on a weekend morning and head south as far as you like; this end is calmer than the Uptown stretch.
### Eating out near Preston Road
Preston Center itself is packed with restaurants around the central garage, and most fill up at lunch with workers from the nearby offices. Snider Plaza, a few minutes south near SMU, is an older strip of shops and cafes. Highland Park Village, at Preston Road and Mockingbird Lane, adds sit down restaurants inside its Spanish style buildings.
- **Highland Park Village** (shopping center): Book dinner on a weeknight and walk the courtyard after; weekend afternoons draw big crowds and full parking rows.
- **Snider Plaza** (shopping street): A small, older strip near SMU for a casual lunch, a coffee or a quick errand on a weekday.
### Groceries and bigger shopping
The Tom Thumb in the Plaza at Preston Center handles the weekly run, and there's another in Snider Plaza. Highland Park Village, a National Historic Landmark, puts high end stores around a central parking court. NorthPark Center, a couple of miles east on Northwest Highway, covers everything else.
- **NorthPark Center** (shopping center): A short drive east for anything the district lacks; go early on a weekday to park near your store.
### Game days at SMU
SMU plays home football at Gerald J. Ford Stadium from September into November. Boulevarding, the tailgate on the tree lined Bishop Boulevard, fills the campus before kickoff. Basketball follows at Moody Coliseum in winter. Both are a short drive or a long walk from the district.
- **Gerald J. Ford Stadium** (stadium): Go early on a fall Saturday for the tailgate on the Boulevard, then walk into the game; parking near campus fills fast.
### What we tell renters here
On SMU home game Saturdays, Mockingbird Lane and Hillcrest Road slow down for hours, so plan errands before kickoff. The corner of Preston and Northwest Highway backs up every weekday rush hour, and hopping on the Tollway for even a short trip north or south often saves time. Ask where guests park before you sign, since the garage and the side streets fill on weekday afternoons.
## Preston Center questions
### Are there regular apartments in Preston Center?
Only a few, in newer mixed-use buildings. Most rentals are condos leased by individual owners, so add Uptown and North Dallas if you want a longer list. Counting apartments nearby, a typical one bedroom here runs $2,064, and the cheapest open one comes to $1,793 with its special.
### What HOA rules come with a Preston Center condo?
Usually a pet limit by weight or breed, a minimum lease (often 12 months or more), set move-in hours, guest parking limits and sometimes a ban on subletting. We find out which ones are HOA rules, since the owner can't waive those.
### How do I get around without rail?
By car. Preston Road and the Tollway run north and south, Northwest Highway runs east to Central and west to Love Field. The closest train is the Red Line at Lovers Lane.
### What slows traffic around Preston Center?
Weekday rush hour at Preston and Northwest Highway, and SMU home football Saturdays, when Mockingbird Lane and Hillcrest crawl. Plan errands before kickoff.
### Is there an apartment locator near Preston Center?
Yes. We find out whether each unit is a condo leased by its owner or has a leasing office, and we add Uptown and North Dallas when the condo list runs short.
## Near Preston Center
- [Uptown](/neighborhoods/uptown/): McKinney Avenue · West Village · State-Thomas
- [North Dallas](/neighborhoods/north-dallas/): Coit Road · Hillcrest Road · Preston Road
- [Oak Lawn](/neighborhoods/oak-lawn/): Turtle Creek · Cedar Springs · Medical District edge
## Looking in Preston Center?
Have a pet, a car for a guest, or a short timeline? Tell us up front with your budget, since those are the HOA rules that decide a Preston Center condo. More reading: [high-rise options nearby](/luxury-high-rise/), [monthly costs past rent](/true-monthly-cost/) and [relocation help](/corporate-relocation/).
Free to renters · No credit pull · Brokered by Spirit Real Estate Group, TREC #562021
[Get my list](https://apartmentlocatordallas.com/get-my-list/)