youth will soon flood into sun youth’s new building, but the space isn't quite ready
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tudor radulescu started to play basketball for the sun youth organization when he was 11 and, during the five or six years he played there, his coaches taught him discipline and perseverance “and a million other things,” he recalled.
“after my parents, the coaches were probably the most influential people i had in my life. that relationship you build with your coaches is a precious one and i appreciated it.”
he went on to become an architect and, later, introduced his two sons to basketball and to sun youth. once they had been playing for about a year, he started to coach a team there himself. thirteen years on, he’s still coaching, devoting about 15 hours a week to the task.
“it’s a lot of time, but it’s not a chore,” he said. “i want to be there. it makes me feel good to share what i learned when i was younger.”
radulescu, 50, is among the legions of montrealers who hold fond memories of having played sports for sun youth. many, like him, are giving back to an organization that gave them so much.
the organization moved recently to a new building on st-laurent blvd. in the villeray—st-michel—parc-extension borough. the budget for the building project was $36.5 million and all but $400,000 has been raised — about half through a capital campaign and the rest from the federal government, a mortgage and the sun youth foundation.
“what we raised money for is the bricks and mortar,” said sun youth executive director marina boulos-winton.
the light brick exterior of the new sun youth building on st-laurent blvd. at faillon st. in montreal on tuesday march 10, 2026.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
what’s needed now is about $1 million for equipment and furnishings to outfit the building’s cardio room, weight room and gymnasium and for areas including the terrasse and urban garden. also needed is money to pay for the refrigerator and freezer space for the sun youth food bank, which opened jan. 12, on the heels of the move to the new building from five temporary rented spaces.
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“we spent $263,000 on refrigeration, which puts us in a deficit position,” boulos-winton said.
when sid stevens and earl de la perralle founded sun youth in 1954 as boys themselves, their goal was to raise money to help neighbourhood kids by establishing sports teams. as it expanded, so did its programs to help vulnerable montrealers, including quebec’s first food bank, material and financial support and emergency relief efforts after fires. their partnership lasted 64 years, until de la perralle’s death in 2018. stevens died last year. but the mission of promoting youth development through sports, recreation and education remains a part of the organization’s dna.
radulescu has another connection to sun youth — as a co-founder and senior partner of kanva architecture, the montreal firm responsible for the organization’s light-filled new building across from jarry park.
the foundation of the idea for the building came from the park itself, he said. “it’s that of nature, of growth, of light, of photosynthesis. trees grow and create oxygen for the people. a tree is a metaphor for the clientèle — an optimistic view of having solid roots and growth and reaching for the sky, of helping the community through simply being.”
the front entrance to the new sun youth building on st-laurent blvd. and faillon st. features large windows to let in a lot of light.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
wooden columns inside serve as an interpretation of the trunks of the park’s mature trees, “contributing to the growth of the building and sun youth as a whole,” radulescu said. “the ground floor is wide open. we want to bring dignity to the clientèle that is in need — and, obviously, light is a necessary element for the growth of trees and the well-being of the people in the building.”
the 36,000-square-foot structure, on st-laurent blvd. at faillon st., is carbon-neutral, meaning that the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is balanced by an equal amount removed from it. emissions are reduced through means including the use of renewable energy and the remainder is balanced with carbon-removal projects like reforestation.
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the building uses geothermal energy, an environmentally friendly system that heats and cools spaces by leveraging the stable temperature of the earth and transferring existing heat to or from the ground. this results in much lower energy consumption and costs, explained ernie rosa, director of property management at sun youth. he has been involved with the organization in some capacity for 42 of his 57 years, since he was recruited to play basketball at 15. in 1993, he established the sun youth day camp.
sun youth executive director marina boulos-winton with ernie rosa, director of property management, in the new sun youth building’s kitchen.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
the building uses black spruce as its structural wood, sourced from a vast boreal forest territory around chibougamau in central quebec where trees are harvested responsibly and replaced.
nine square windows into the 9,000-square-foot second-floor gymnasium are visible on the building’s st-laurent blvd. wall; directly above them are solar panels that contribute to the energy in the building.
ceilings are exposed and ventilation shafts and pipes are visible. that was deliberate, radulescu said. “we are not going to spend money hiding what makes the building work: we’re going to celebrate it.”
the floors in much of the space are polished concrete, which is solid and resilient. “when we were discussing materiality, it wasn’t just what was nicest on day 1 but materials that would be easy to maintain and have a long lifespan,” he said. “i think we are good for a few generations.”
the new sun youth building has exposed ceilings and concrete floors to “celebrate” what makes the building work.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
the building features led lighting, with few light switches because the lights are motion-activated. “we want to be efficient with energy and also with spaces,” radulescu said. “we wanted to create flexible spaces that could be used by a youth basketball team or neighbourhood groups.” and the kitchen and cafeteria space on the mezzanine can also be used as an event space, a community kitchen and a place of learning, he said.
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sun youth, which has long had basketball and football leagues, is expanding its recreational sports activities this year. “it’s something i believe in strongly,” said guinness rider, the organization’s director of community services and sports. offerings include tennis and futsal, a form of indoor soccer.
the building must be ready to receive young participants by the end of june, when the sports activities for youth age five to 17 are set to begin as well as the day camp, which is open to kids age five to 14, said boulos-winton.
the hope is also to provide tutoring and after-school programs for students as well as programming for seniors, said boulos-winton. “my vision is that every nook and cranny of the building is used — and that it becomes a community hub.”
guinness rider, sun youth director of community services and sports, left, executive director marina boulos-winton and ernie rosa, director of property management, in the empty weight room at the sun youth building on st-laurent blvd. about $1 million has yet to be raised to furnish and equip spaces including the weight room, which will need such items as weight rack sets, leg presses, dumbbells, nautilus equipment and flooring.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
at a glance
those wanting information about helping to subsidize the cost of equipment, furnishings and materials to outfit the cardio room, weight room, gymnasium and other spaces in the new sun youth building can contact executive director marina boulos-winton at marina.boulos@jas-sy.org.
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