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Portland Parks & Recreation officials are preparing to hire design teams and seek general contractors for two new parks in east Portland.

Requests for proposals from general contractors will likely be issued by early next month for Gateway Park & Plaza off of Northeast Halsey Street between 104th and 106th avenues and Beech Park near the intersection of Northeast 126th Avenue and Beech Street.

Today, Portland Parks & Recreation will host a fair for contractors interested in learning more about the projects. The fair will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. at Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs offices, at 731 N. Hayden Meadows Drive in Portland.

City officials are especially interested in hiring general contractors that will partner with minority-owned, woman-owned or emerging small businesses.

Contracts are being finalized for 2.ink Studio to design Beech Park and for PLACE Studio to design Gateway Park & Plaza, according to parks officials.

The 3.2-acre Gateway Park & Plaza will become the outdoor 鈥渓iving room鈥� for the neighborhood, said George Lozovoy, a landscape architect and project manager with Portland Parks & Recreation. Plans call for a plaza that can accommodate farmers markets, festivals and other events; a picnic area; and a playground accessible to children with disabilities.

鈥淚t’s an urban plaza and a neighborhood park,鈥� he said.

The 16-acre Beech Park will be adjacent to the Parkrose School District’s Shaver Elementary School in the Argay neighborhood. It will feature views of the Columbia River, Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood; a sports field and a basketball court; playground and picnic areas; a community garden; and an off-leash dog park, said Britta Herwig, Portland Parks & Recreation capital project manager.

The aim is for both projects to fill a void in a part of Portland where residents are underserved, Herwig said.

鈥淓ast Portland is not park-rich right now,鈥� she said.

Construction is scheduled to start in early 2016; both parks are expected to open in spring 2017.