Mount Tabor Meadows, a newer residential neighborhood in Blacksburg, is one of the top 10 finalists in the KaBOOM! Promote Your Project Design Contest, a national online competition sponsored by the nonprofit playground builder.

The public has until midnight Monday to vote for their favorite playground design, and the project that racks up the most votes will receive a $5,000 grant to fund playground equipment costs that are expected to be at least $35,000.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, the Mount Tabor Meadows Commons project ranked No. 1 with 1,106 votes, 240 ahead of second place.

The competition is just part of the plans to fund the project for the shared common space located in the heart of the development.

Talks began last year among members of the community's homeowners association as to what to do with the two-acre common space, located almost diagonally to resident Beth Lohman's back yard.

Lohman and her husband, Jerry Ford, moved into the neighborhood about two years ago. They were attracted to the homes there -- all EarthCraft-certified, Energy Star-rated and developed by Green Valley Builders.

As for the common space, Lohman said all were in agreement that it should be more than just a playground area -- it should be a place that would suit everyone's needs and integrate the green philosophy reflected in the homes.

For Lohman, the Mount Tabor Meadows Commons will serve as a "third place," or a person's daily destination other than work or home.

"We seem to have lost this 'third place' in American society," Lohman said, referring to pubs, plazas and other social areas found more prominently overseas.

"If you stay in your home all the time, you won't get to know your neighbors."

With a vision, the group turned to Virginia Tech's Community Design Assistance Center to develop conceptual plans for the common space.

For the past three months, the CDAC team consisting of Kimberly Steika, landscape architecture project coordinator, and three Tech students have been working with the community's HOA to bring that vision to fruition.

Plans for the Mount Tabor Meadows Commons include a playground, a community garden and shelter, arbor-covered porch swings, a walking trail and natural elements such as climbing boulders used from rocks found on the property.

The environment-friendly theme -- the central concept of the design -- will be played out throughout the space, Lohman said.

At the lower part of the land, an urban forest will be created full of trees and other vegetation to soak up storm water, increase infiltration and on site storage and provide shade and habitat for wildlife.

Plans have also been proposed to create a dry creek bed to stop excess water from running off into downstream neighborhoods, a goal that is "going above and beyond to be a good neighbor," Lohman said.

"So much careful thought has been put into this project," Steika said.

"Beth and the others have put a lot of effort into making sure everybody's involved."

A grant provided by the Department of Forestry helped offset 40 percent of the design costs, and Lohman is hoping the KaBOOM! contest will help make the project more achievable.

"The contest has definitely helped rally our community and has brought us closer together very quickly," Lohman said.

The community didn't enter the contest until about two weeks ago.

Other grants and fundraising projects are being looked into by the community's HOA.

"This space is going to be more than just a playground," Lohman said.

"It's going to be a place for our community to come together and grow together. It's going to have a lot more value than just a playground in the middle of a field."