09/02/2026
for Lindenwold this week explores the opportunity of repurposing.
What's even more impressive than their creation of a recreational facility is their can do - anything is possible - stop at nothing - attitude behind their public service. Admirable.
We'd love to see this kind of passion locally!
❤️
A town of 2,200 people was quoted more than $100,000 to paint pickleball courts inside an ice rink that sat empty most of the year.
In Van Buren, Maine, the rink worked as a hockey space in the winter, but for nine or 10 months of the year, it was mostly unused. Town manager Luke Dyer, a participant in the Strong Towns Cohort program for local leaders, saw a chance to get more life out of a place the town already had.
After the professional quote came back too high, Luke called a paint company and talked through the job himself. The town didn’t need a $100,000 version. It needed the right paint, volunteers willing to help, and someone local who knew how to lay out clean lines.
They built two pickleball courts for just over $5,000.
The courts became one of the most active spaces in town. More importantly, they also gave people a reason to come back to the rec area, notice what else needed attention, and start putting more local energy behind it.
Listen to the full episode, “What Pickleball Revealed in a Rural Town,” here: https://www.strongtowns.org/podcasts/what-pickleball-revealed-in-a-rural-town
