The Curbed Cup, our annual award for Atlanta’s “Neighborhood of the Year,” pits 16 neighborhoods vying for the prestigious (fake) trophy. (Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations this month). Now it’s time for Final Four action. Polls will be open for 24 hours, so let the eliminations resume!

Westview (1)

Tournament newbie Westview has surged through the Curbed Cup contest thus far. But as last year proved, College Park is a pro at making The Finals.

After bagging far more nominations than any other Atlanta community in 2017, Westview topped its geographic cousin “Upper Westside” in Round 1 action—and then trounced former Curbed Cup champ Reynoldstown (2014), another recent Beltline recipient, in the Elite Eight.

Could Westview be riding a recent wave of investment (both in retail/restaurant/residential and Beltline infrastructure) toward its very first nonexistent trophy? Signs say maybe. But College Park says, “Not this year, buddy.”

College Park (4)

As with its eye-popping success in the 2016 tourney, College Park is rolling, having booted a neighborhood in Elite Eight action (Grant Park) some had predicted to take home the hardware this year. That came after a Round 1 ouster of motivated newcomer Capitol View.

Robert S. Donovan/Flickr/Wiki

Recently the ITP city has applauded its first new apartment community since 1969, The Pad on Harvard, as well as new attractions such as Radial Cafe’s second location in College Park’s charming old retail strip.

The National Historic District, as one nominator put it recently, counts “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,” with a caring, small-town vibe.

Sound like “Neighborhood of the Year” material for 2017? Only time (and voter participation) will tell.