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Downtown YMCA

Downtown YMCA

The YMCA and downtown Montréal have a long history. Our impact here has taken on different forms over the last 170 years, and we have shown resilience and the ability to adapt to the times and community needs. Because our goal has always been to have a positive long-term impact—for the people who participate in our programs and for the community. Our aim is to pursue our mission for many years to come.

Discover our TeenZones and our community programs!

Consult the programming

Opening hours

Community programs

Opened

Fitness and aquatic activities

Temporarily suspended

Our address

1435 Drummond St,
Montreal, H3G 1W4

Phone number(s)

514-687-9622

Email

sac.cv@ymcaquebec.org

End of Physical Activities for Kids at the Downtown YMCA in December 2025

We would like to inform you that we made the difficult decision to stop offering physical activities for kids at the Downtown YMCA on December 7, 2025, when the fall session comes to an end.

This decision is part of a process we started to simplify our service offering to ensure the organization’s long-term viability.

We recognize the huge value of the program for participants and families. We would therefore like you to join us in thanking the downtown team, who got thousands of kids moving over the years.

A necessary transformation

Downtown Montréal is reinventing itself, and so are we. We have analyzed how the situation is evolving in light of certain substantial challenges:

Fewer people coming into the downtown Montréal
Changes in workers’ habits
Changes in fitness and workout habits

One thing is clear: downtown Montréal has changed and this affects how our charitable organization delivers its services at several levels. The Y can no longer cover the costs of its large fitness facilities, such as the pool, gym, and conditioning room, on its own as it did in the past. This is why we are taking action.

The future is taking shape

We have completed an important step. We are currently preparing to put the Downtown YMCA building up for sale. Our goal is to create a new community hub in the same neighbourhood but one that better suits our programming.

The revenues from the sale will be invested in our mission-driven investment fund, allowing us to focus on our programming to the advantage of the community rather than on managing our building. Especially as the current programming at the Downtown YMCA, which includes the TeenZone, community programs, and the YMCA International Language School, only requires a third of the building’s area.

We have already chosen a real estate broker to guide us in the process, and we are currently looking for a new space in which to move our services. This is a long-term project that will take several years to become a reality.

For more details, consult our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

This difficult decision comes at a time of increased financial pressure. In 2025, we will need to fill a significant gap in our annual budget. Pursuing all our activities is, therefore, no longer viable: we must refocus our resources while we collectively redefine our impact priorities. This reorganization aims to preserve our capacity for action in the short and medium term.

Committed to the future

Thanks to program-specific funding and our donors, we continue to offer youth and community programs, both in-person and online, to the downtown community, specifically:

Social inclusion and reintegration services for people who were incarcerated and people experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness
Two TeenZones with sports, recreational, and leadership activities, homework help, and a program geared to students suspended from school.
- One TeenZone for 12-to-17-year-olds
- On TeenZone for 16-to-24-year-olds

In-classroom and online language courses

The YMCA International Language School offers a wide range of in-person and online language courses for youth and adults with a choice of nine languages.

Discover our language courses

Call for temporary tenants

From now until the building is sold, we want to optimize the use of space to serve the needs of the community. The concept: offer community organizations struggling to keep operating in downtown Montréal special rates adapted to their ability to pay.

There are various multipurpose spaces available. Interested parties can communicate their needs by emailing installations.sa@ymcaquebec.org.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

The Y is reinventing itself, modernizing, and ensuring that a viable financial strategy is in place so it can continue to encourage and inspire all people to fulfill their potential, thrive, and give back to the community for decades to come.

This transformation includes the implementation of numerous projects, which were presented at the 2024 annual general meeting at the end of March and in the 2023 impact report. Specifically, the focus is on implementing a sustainable financial strategy, redefining the YMCAs of Québec’s presence in Greater Montréal, and updating the services offered so that they better meet the needs of today and tomorrow.

The community programs and the YMCA International Language School are open at the Downtown YMCA. While the large sports facilities have been closed since March 2020, the gymnasium is a favourite spot for the youth who participate in our community programs and is also often rented out to local schools. Furthermore, the Downtown YMCA offers soccer and basketball courses to neighbourhood children.

Changes in people’s lifestyle habits—particularly telecommuting, which has impacted the number of people coming into downtown Montréal—and consequently, the substantial drop in autonomous revenues generated by gym memberships is an important factor to consider in the YMCAs of Québec’s financial model. This decrease in membership revenues has created a funding gap for our mission, which is something not supported by most of our funders.

Selling the building, which is located on Stanley and Drummond Streets, will allow us to invest the revenue from the sale in our mission-driven investment fund. And, as such, allow us to keep serving the needs of the community.

The situation for many organizations and companies in downtown Montréal has changed and the YMCA is no exception. We share many of the same challenges as other organizations in the area, and this has forced us to think about the future of the YMCA and how it needs to transform. These challenges are specifically linked to the drop in the number of people working downtown and the changes in work and fitness habits.

The Downtown YMCA is our largest centre and the one where maintenance costs are the highest. Without a long-term partnership, keeping the large sports facilities and pool open is not viable. We do, however, want to continue offering physical activities to the community, but in a different format.

In fact, we already offer sports courses and physical activities for kids at the Downtown YMCA at each session. To view the courses offered, please consult our physical activities for kids page.

You can also discover the programming offered in our other centres in Montréal:

Annual and recurring deficits are too substantial. In addition, the costs of resuming fitness activities at the Downtown YMCA would entail a major investment as the facilities need to be renovated, as well as substantial annual indexed maintenance costs. To date, no potential partner has stepped forward and we can no longer wait. We do, however, encourage our members to get involved in our philanthropic work and fundraising events to support our community programs.

It is too soon to say as we are in the process of evaluating all long-term scenarios based on new lifestyle habits, particularly regarding fitness activities.

However, one thing is clear: the fitness habits of residents and workers have changed for good. There are fewer people working out downtown and we cannot and will not be able to cover the costs to maintain the large fitness facilities, including the pool, without a partnership. We would, however, like to offer fitness activities, but they will need to be offered in a different format than they were before the pandemic.

It is too early to answer this question. We recently chose a real estate broker to assist us in selling the building and in finding new premises, but this will be a lengthy process. For the time being, there are no changes for our teams or our programming. The YMCA International Language School, the TeenZone, and the community programs at the Downtown YMCA are still being offered as usual.

For over 170 years, the YMCA has been reinventing itself, and continues to do so. Admittedly, redefining our physical presence in downtown will entail changes. However, our intention is to create a new community hub in a smaller space that is more in line with the programming we offer, in the same neighbourhood. It should be noted that, during this transition period, the Ballet Divertimento School and Choreographic Centre have moved their operations to the Downtown YMCA, allowing us to meet the demand for space from community and cultural organizations.

Downtown YMCA

Opening hours

Our address

Phone number(s)

Email

For more details, consult our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Will the Downtown YMCA be discontinuing its physical activities for kids?

What led to this decision?

How will you support the members affected by this decision?

Will refunds be offered, as you are discontinuing physical activities for kids at the Downtown YMCA?

In-classroom and online language courses

Call for temporary tenants

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Why is the YMCAs of Québec undergoing a transformation?

Is the Downtown YMCA open?

Has the Downtown YMCA been sold or is it for sale?

Why is the Downtown YMCA building for sale?

Will you continue offering programs in the Peter-McGill district?

Why would fitness activities at the Downtown YMCA not resume until the building is sold, the way they did in other YMCA centres?

Can members fundraise or can you increase membership prices so fitness activities can resume at the Downtown YMCA before the building is sold?

Will fitness and aquatic activities be included in the Downtown Y’s transformation project?

Is there no other solution for you aside from the sale of the Downtown YMCA?

Where and when will you relocate the Downtown YMCA programs?

What will happen to the special sense of community that existed at the Downtown YMCA?

During the transition, will the empty premises at the Downtown YMCA be available to organizations to rent?