What Pickleball Revealed in a Rural Town
About this episode
Luke Dyer discusses how Van Buren, Maine, revitalized its downtown by repurposing buildings and creating community spaces.
Van Buren, Maine, had a problem no town wants: it owned more than half of its downtown buildings through tax acquisition. When Luke Dyer became town manager after a long career in law enforcement, he was facing vacant storefronts, deteriorating buildings, flood-damaged land, and a downtown that had lost traffic after the port of entry moved away from Main Street. In this episode, Dyer shares how Van Buren began putting buildings back into productive use, turning an underused ice rink into pickleball courts, growing trees for Main Street in a community greenhouse, and converting its old town office into a business incubator. ADDITIONAL SHOW NOTES Luke Dyer (LinkedIn) Local Recommendations: Acadian Village Tasty Food Restaurant Northern Maine Kolache York's Kitchen Tiffany Owens Reed (Instagram) Do you know someone who would make for a great Bottom-Up Revolution guest? Let us know here! This podcast is made possible by Strong Towns members. Thank you! Join fellow members discussing this episode in The Commons.
People in this episode
Host: Strong Towns
Guest: Luke Dyer
Topics covered
- urban development
- community revitalization
- pickleball
- local economy
- town management
Keywords
- Van Buren
- pickleball
- community greenhouse
- business incubator
- urban renewal
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Strong Towns
Places: Van Buren, Maine, Main Street, Acadian Village, Northern Maine, York's Kitchen
More episodes of The Bottom-Up Revolution
- Car Ownership Versus the Promise of Convenience
- Where Did the Village Go?
- Your City Said It Wants Public Input, Now What?
- The Vacancy Problem Artists Can Help Solve
- Can Your City Answer This Sidewalk Question?
- Could These Parking Spaces Be Homes?
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Bottom-Up Revolution podcast page.