Kirkwood

Back in 2013, Kirkwood took the Curbed Cup by storm, scoring a fake prestigious trophy that still occasionally gets mentioned in property listings. And this diverse, neighborly eastside nabe with roots in the 1800s nearly became Atlanta’s first repeat champ last year — until West End said otherwise in The Finals. 2016 has been big for K-wood, with ground breaking on a 266-unit apartment complex that could provide a jolt for the already thriving downtown village (where local staple Anna’s BBQ is getting rave press and Le Petit Marché is expanding again). New Kirkwood housing stock tiptoed into the $700K stratosphere this year, renderings for history’s most pleasant subdivision emerged, and the State of Georgia has finally agreed to release the 27-acre, postindustrial gorilla in the room — Pullman Yard — from its clutches, potentially opening the door to an adaptive-reuse rebirth or Fuqua-led disaster.

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Castleberry Hill

Curbed Atlanta

Atlanta’s authentic loft mecca, Castleberry Hill, continued to shed the notion in 2016 that it’s off the beaten path, as the Atlanta Falcons’ glittery, billion-dollar origami took shape within view of many-a neighborhood balcony. As 2 Chainz was finishing the build-out of his Castleberry Hill restaurant this year, yet another cool conversion of a century-old warehouse — Fulton Supply Lofts — was underway, and Hard Rock Hotel was promising to break ground this year on a potentially game-changing, 220-room stack of glitz. No shortage of impressive Castleberry Hill condos graced the listings circuit this year, though with substantially larger price tags than they used to have. Meanwhile, community stalwarts like No Mas! Cantina and the underrated Smoke Ring barbecue kept Castleberry Hill’s retail scene pulsing.