The Curbed Cup, our annual award for Atlanta’s “Neighborhood of the Year,” is kicking off with 16 neighborhoods vying for the prestigious (fake) trophy. We’ll reveal each of the neighborhoods this week, and polls will be open for 24 hours, so you can cast your vote as to which ones should advance. (Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations this month). Now, let the eliminations commence!

College Park (4)

Without question, the valiant dark horse of 2016’s Curbed Cup contest was College Park.

Despite its No. 4 seed status (as with this year), the south ITP city wasn’t a favorite on many lists to reach the storied Finals, but that’s exactly what College Park did. Sure, East Atlanta snatched 50.6 percent of nearly 7,000 votes to claim the glorious nonexistent hardware. But College Park’s run made a statement nonetheless.

That momentum has carried into 2017 in impactful ways, as German automaker BMW announced plans to launch a Technical Training Center in College Park, consuming 4 acres at the Georgia International Convention Center.

Elsewhere, the Atlanta Hawks solidified plans to operate a “G League” team in a new College Park facility, and The Pad on Harvard—the city’s first new apartment community since 1969—came into its own, as new attractions such as Radial Cafe’s second location opened in the historic retail strip.

“Historic College Park is the best,” announced a nominator named Jean. “We are a National Historic District with the largest independent private school in the country, a diverse population of welcoming people minutes away from a world-class airport with direct flights to almost everywhere in the world, while enjoying all the benefits of a friendly small town whose residents care about each other.”

Capitol View (13)

Thanks in part to mere-steps proximity to the Beltline’s sparkly new Westside Trail, Capitol View began the year with a bang when national brokerage Redfin predicted it would be Atlanta’s second “hottest” neighborhood of 2017, behind neighbor Adair Park. Median home sales of $130,000, at the time, were fetching 100 percent of listing price.

Anecdotally, transactions in this “best kept secret” due south of downtown seemed to bear that out this year, with blue-shuttered 1940s bungalows and much older renovations (seen here; listed at $280,000) flying off the market in Capitol View.

Dorsey Alston Realtors

Named for its Gold Dome vistas, Capitol View is one of several newcomers to Curbed Cup proceedings this year, and it has much going for it beyond Beltline access, as one fan named Zachary was happy to point out in his nomination:

“Capitol View is often overlooked by its bigger and flashier neighbors to the north and west (Adair Park, West End)—but in the time my husband and I have lived in the neighborhood, it has been everything the perfect Atlanta neighborhood should be. It has direct MARTA access (Oakland City Station) and direct Beltline access (via the entrance to the new Westside trail at Allene Ave). It’s currently pecan season (nearly every house in the neighborhood has at least one pecan tree), and the groups of kids going door to door to collect them to sell warms my heart.

“We’ve largely been able to avoid many of the negatives that gentrification can bring, mostly because gentrification has somewhat spared us when compared to our neighboring communities. While homes in Adair Park and West End have gone for upwards of $350,000, homes are still somewhat affordable in Capitol View, and there are plenty of families with young children to prove it. We have our struggles (crime, lackluster city council representation), but Capitol View is the perfect home for anyone looking for a small neighborhood feel, with big access to city amenities.”