Portland Community Squash started in 2012 as a grassroots effort with Barrett Takesian, Sandy Spaulding and Greg Born as the original directors and a few volunteers offering free youth and adult programs on two converted racquetball courts at a local YMCA.
Five years later, PCS opened its own facility at 66 Noyes St.
Led by Takesian, a 2025 Mainebiz 40 Under 40 honoree, and driven by a mission called “Theory of Change” — emphasizing access, equity and cohesion, the organization today serves 1,800 individuals across guided and self-guided programs. Youth participation has climbed to 795 as community events continue to grow.
In 2024, the organization completed a $6 million project to renovate 13,000 square feet of the Noyes Street facility and add 7,000 square feet, led by Portland general contractor Wright-Ryan. The project was financed through philanthropy and a $3 million Maine Community Bank loan.
Mainebiz: How did you get involved in squash?
Barrett Takesian: Learning the game with my dad. After I graduated from Bowdoin, I moved to Portland and started coaching and tutoring kids at the YMCA.
MB: What is it about squash that helps build community?
BT: You can pack five squash courts on one tennis court, so the cost per square foot is advantageous. There was also pent-up demand for the sport here. And the sport really runs itself. Before we expanded, we had the four busiest squash courts in America, mixing ages and backgrounds. It worked.
MB: What’s PCS’s budget?
BT: $1.4 million: Half of that is earned revenue and half is philanthropy.
MB: How many employees?
BT: We have a pretty unique model. Three full-timers run the community center, and they have part-time staff who support them. They keep the building open. On the community outreach side, youth programming and summer camps are led by three crew leaders. Each crew leader gets a van, part-time staff and a slice of the city. Their job is to support transportation, coaching and tutoring.
The two sides of the organization work in unison really well. The crew team is basically our sales force. As families get comfortable being in the building, they matriculate into self-guided offerings on the community center side. So there’s a constant influx of families into the center.
MB: What did the renovation and addition entail?
BT: We previously had four squash courts. Now, we have six singles and one doubles court. We bought additional land, improved our classrooms and locker rooms and installed new utilities. We doubled the size of our gym and added more fitness class offerings.
We added a café because we’re trying to become more multi-generational in our offerings. It’s about creating connections across backgrounds and age groups — food and beverage has been great for us to get social connection going. We see about 80 people in our café, and we have family dinners and brunches.
Our weekly traffic has almost tripled since we opened the new spaces. This is the 50-year investment to give the building another 50 years.
