Three National Firms Chosen as Finalists in Master Plan Competition

The Shelby Farms Park Conservancy has announced three nationally accomplished parks master plan design firms that will participate in a competition to develop an overall plan for the
future of Shelby Farms Park.

The national firms are:

• field operations, located in New York City. The firm's signature projects include the Fresh Kills and High Line parks in New York state. Contact the firm at (212) 433-1450.
• Hargreaves Associates, located in San Francisco; Cambridge, Mass.; New York City and London. Hargreaves Associates' signature projects are Louisville Waterfront Park and Crissy Field in San Francisco. George Hargreaves, the design director, is a major contributor to the book Large Parks. Contact, (617) 661-0070.
• Tom Leader Studio, Berkeley, CA. Signature projects are Railroad Reservation Park in Birmingham, Ala. and Longacres Park in Renton, Wash. Tom Leader Studios leads the team that includes Bridges designer Coleman Coker. Contact, (510) 524-3363.

"We were thrilled with the high level of experienced, world-class design firms that want to conduct the master plan for Shelby Farms Park. The response confirms what we all know - that
Shelby Farms Park is a special place that has the potential to be the best urban park in North America," said Calvin Anderson, chairman of the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy board of
directors.

The finalist firms were selected after an evaluation of 33 teams from across the United
States and Europe that submitted proposals to develop the master plan for Shelby
Farms Park.

"The quality of the proposals we received made this a difficult decision," said
Barbara Hyde, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy board member. "However, the obvious
talent, passion and creativity the three finalist firms possess set them apart from the other submissions. We feel confident that each of the firms' visions for Shelby Farms Park - combined with the public's ideas - will make Shelby Farms Park a place to be treasured for generations."

The finalist firms will each receive a $25,000 honorarium to fund their design concepts, which will be submitted in March and publicly exhibited. The Conservancy will select and announce a winning design in early April.

Throughout November the Conservancy will conduct a comprehensive public input campaign to gain citizen input about the uses, features and qualities that should be part of the park's future. This will involve numerous public forums, an online survey and presentations to community groups. The survey is available online at www.shelbyfarmspark.org.

The dates for the first series of public input forum are:

• Nov. 14, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Memphis Botanic Garden
• Nov. 20, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., White Station High School
• Nov. 26, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis and
• Dec. 1, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Shelby Farms Park Visitors' Center (youth forum).

The public input forums' data will be collected, organized and presented to the design firms as a guide to their planning projects.

For more information, please contact Jen Andrews at Shelby Farms Park, (901) 767-7275, or Katie Wassmer at Thompson & Berry PR, (901) 251-5103.