The Waller Creek Conservancy's design competition has moved in to Stage III, with four teams vying for the chance to design the future of the Waller Creek watershed and, in turn, downtown Austin.

The design competition invited teams made up of landscape architects, architects, artists and other environmental design professionals to come up with a plan to make the Waller Creek creekbed and its 3,700-acre watershed into "a vibrant, livable, workable district."

Waller Creek's competition manager Donald Stastny said the competition is a huge opportunity for design professionals because the opportunity to shape the Waller Creek project—which will bring another 28 acres downtown out of the floodplain and into play—would garner international attention.

"There are many [in the industry] that are looking at this as the competition of the decade," Stastny said.

The problem the design teams have to solve is a complex one, said Stephanie Lee McDonald, Waller Creek Conservancy executive director. The competition's jury chose four teams out of the 31 that entered. The finalists will receive $100,000 to work with in presenting their project proposal. The teams must incorporate green space, environmental protection, economic development consideration, aesthetics and other issues into their solutions.

McDonald said the teams have to weigh and balance the importance of parks, businesses, residents and community space in their designs.

"None of these places take precedence," McDonald said. "They're all important."

The teams each gave a presentation at a Meet the Design Teams event the conservancy held for the public. The event, held May 15, was heavily attended, with some attendees standing three or four people deep in the back of the Blanton auditorium. Balfour Beatty Construction Business Development Specialist Tim Garbutt—who is also a French Place neighborhood resident and considers Waller Creek a neighbor—said he not only attended the event to see how his company might be able to participate in what he called a "signature project" once the winner is chosen, but also because he was curious about the future of the area.

"I consider it an untapped amenity for the entire community," Garbutt said. "It's another place to be in a natural setting in an urban environment."

The four finalist teams, which are from as far away as China and as close as Austin, must submit their design concepts by Sept. 12. The concepts will be presented to the public Sept. 17–30.

The jury, which is comprised of representatives of landscape architecture, architecture, economic development and restoration ecology, will make a recommendation to the conservancy's governance group Oct. 12. The winner will be announced Oct. 16.

The finalists

• CMG and Public Architecture
• Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc., and Thomas Phifer & Partners
• Turenscape + Lake|Flato Architects
• Workshop: Ken Smith Landscape Architect, Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, and Rogers Marvel Architects