Teams unveil landscape design ideas for Mount Tabor reservoirs

Portland city officials and residents have weighed in with their opinions about a proposed plan to cover three open reservoirs in Mount Tabor Park. Now it's time for four teams to share their views of the design direction the project should take.

The teams were selected as finalists in early September, when the city's Bureau of Water Works announced the preliminary results of a design competition for landscape improvements for the Southeast Portland reservoir sites.

The budget for the design and execution of the improvements is $13.7 million.

The goal is to have the improvements - what will appear on and around the tanks once they're covered - coincide with reconstruction of the reservoirs into underground tanks. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the city began discussing the need to cover the tanks in order to protect the water in the reservoirs.

The design competition drew interest from dozens of firms, with nine teams submitting qualifications for consideration. An evaluation panel reviewed the submissions and selected four teams to participate in the competition.