The Complexe Guy-Favreau YMCA will shut its doors for good, ending 30 years of providing its services in the Chinatown area.
Escalating rent meant the location operated at a loss for the past three years.
According to Stéphane Vaillancourt, the president of YMCA Quebec:
“It’s very, very sad.”
The YMCA, situated at the corner of René-Levesque Boulevard and Jeanne-Mance Street, has occupied Guy-Favreau ever since the federal building was completed in 1986.
For the first 20 years it was there, the federal government allowed it to pay a nominal rent of $1 a year.
The terms of that deal changed in 2006, when the feds started charging meaningful rent, albeit at lower than market value, Vaillancourt said.
There are 5,500 members of that Y location, 500 of whom receive some sort of charitable assistance.
What will happen to recipients of aid is uncertain. Vaillancourt said donors may request that their funds remain in the community.
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Without the YMCA there, they may choose to donate to a different cause in the same area.
The YMCA location’s last day is scheduled for May 31.
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