Chinatown residents want sports centre at Guy-Favreau

Chinatown residents and businesses want to see the former YMCA at Complexe Guy-Favreau transformed into a sports centre.

They say the facility would meet the community’s sports and sociocultural needs.

A committee is being formed made up of residents, business owners and associations such as the Chinese Association of Montreal, the Chinatown Economic Development Council and the Montreal Mynix Athletic Club.

“Most important for us right now is to be very inclusive of all the residents and basically speak to the residents and see what it is they want. Whether it be tai chi, whether it be yoga, basketball, volleyball, so on and so forth. We’re here for the community,” said Phil Chu, a Chinatown resident and former YMCA volunteer.

“In Ville-Marie, there’s over 100,000 plus people. And there’s only two community centres right now which are located in the village. So between the Quartier des Spectacles, Chinatown and Old Port, there is absolutely no sports centre whatsoever.”

The YMCA at Complexe Guy-Favreau in Chinatown closed completely in 2019, citing an increase in renovation costs.

Chinatown residents are advocating for the return of a facility offering basketball, volleyball, swimming, and martial arts, as well as programs for seniors, youths and families.

“We want to let the community know that we’re still there,” said Chu, who advocated to save the Guy-Favreau YMCA in 2019.

Roughly 6,300 signatures were gathered to keep the facility open, though the campaign ultimately failed.

“We went to city councillors,” recalled Chu. “We’ve held several events to bring this to attention. And I brought the petition here today, again today, because to show that those signatures did not just disappear, but people are still there and they still want the centre.

“We wanted to reinvigorate the original fight that we had to keep the centre open.”

After the YMCA closed down, Guy-Favreau then housed a homeless shelter starting at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is also closing due to renovations.

“Many residents were very surprised in 2020 when they learned about the fact that there would be a homeless shelter right there in the building and nobody was consulted,” said Fo Niemi, the executive director of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations.

“They lived through the consequences of that in the last two-and-a-half years. So right now when they know that this shelter is going to move away, they say ‘hey, we are the residents, we have needs, we have basically dreams, we want to have a say in recreating this sports centre for our unmet needs at every level possible.'”

“With the shutting down of the homeless shelter, we want to let the federal government know as we’re now, we’re here again, we’re organized, we’re willing to basically work to get the centre open again,” added Chu.

The Guy-Favreau YMCA will also be special for Chu as he has a personal connection to it.

“I was going through a tough time in my life and I met some fantastic people that really helped me get through the tough times of my life,” he said. “And I actually met my girlfriend there and we have a child together and a happy family.”

The committee is hoping to meet with Jean-Yves Duclos, Canada’s minister of public services and procurement — who is responsible for the Complexe Guy-Favreau — in the next two months to explore investments. They are hoping for financial support and reduced rent.

“In order to look at the possibilities and options available and then negotiate and discuss what can be done in terms of renovation,” said Niemi. “At the same time, we have to look at developing a partnership based on former members, corporate sponsors and other levels of government funding for this new sports centre.”

From 1977 to 2017, the sports centre that became the YMCA paid just $1 a year for rent under an agreement with the federal government.

“There’s a lot of need for healthy development, for wellness and also for community and social programs, serving seniors, people with disabilities, people who live alone,” said Niemi. “And there’s a crying need for, among other things, a place for sports teams from the Chinese community to gather and to feel that they are home and that they can have a more permanent place.”