It all comes down to this, Atlanta.
After two weeks of criteria-free competitions, upsets, blowouts, effusive love of place, and more than 22,000 votes, two contestants have risen above the rest to sniff Mount Olympus. Both are Cinderella stories this year, in terms of seeding. But only one can be proclaimed the greatest in Urbanize’s third-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament.
Will it be the higher-seeded Reynoldstown? Or the historic southside city that is Hapeville? (Note: Cities near Atlanta’s core are allowed to participate, per the official rules, so long as enough people nominated them.)
Without further ado ... Welcome to The Championship!
This being the final contest, voting will be open until 3 p.m. sharp on Tuesday, allowing anyone who’s actually on vacation sufficient time to chime in.
We ask that you keep the tourney fun, fair, and positive as one great ITP place surges to everlasting glory—with the whole city (and beyond) watching.
Now, let’s go!
...
REYNOLDSTOWN (13)
Remnants of the former steel plant are apparent throughout Reynoldstown's new Breaker Breaker, but especially with this steel archway entry on Wylie retained from the site's industrial days. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta
Round 1: Overcame Decatur
Elite Eight: Slipped past Grant Park
Final Four: Defeated Summerhill
In this corner, Reynoldstown is continuing its quest to become just the second Atlanta neighborhood to repeat as a tourney champion. Longtime followers of this criteria-free contest may recall that R-town valiantly claimed the crown in 2014, just as BeltLine hoopla was reaching molten status.
For a solid decade, small-but-mighty Reynoldstown has been synonymous with waves of BeltLine-influenced investment and change, transforming industrial properties and vacant lots into things unimaginable in generations past. That does present challenges, obviously, but like the quality of a Comfy Chicken Biscuit, you can’t deny the persistent new energy. 2023’s most buzz-worthy addition has to be Breaker Breaker, the easy-breezy BeltLine pitstop that’s part of growing Empire Stein Steel. Also along the BeltLine (surprise!) an all-affordable stack of rent-capped homes has recently topped out, while a truly unique motel conversion gets underway for Atlantans who need a boost most. Elsewhere, Reynoldstown's penchant for flashy duplexes shows few signs of slowing.
...
HAPEVILLE (14)
Hapeville.org
…
Round 1: Trounced “West Midtown”
Elite Eight: Edged Edgewood
Final Four: Scooted by East Atlanta
If you’re asking what an independent Fulton County city is doing here, you’ll have to take that up with the motivated Hapeville boosters who nominated it for the tournament earlier this month. But as a growing, urbanizing place, it certainly belongs.
Historic and artsy Hapeville has emerged in recent years as the darling of south ITP growth, owing in no small part to its next-door proximity to the world’s busiest airport and Porsche’s North American Headquarters, among other factors. And for a city of less than 7,000 people, it’s also a fiercely proud, neighborly place. This year saw Hapeville add a nifty public greenspace and splash pad fed by natural springs. Just a few blocks from the city’s charming downtown, Porsche’s second phase debuted in 2023 with a new 1.3-mile handling circuit that’s nothing short of exhilarating. Elsewhere, the thoughtful remake of a 1950s gas station came alive, while Hapeville’s residential explosion continued with projects such as Signal and Serenity. By the way, this year marks Hapeville’s first tourney appearance.
NOTE: Voting has closed at 3 p.m. CONGRATS TO HAPEVILLE, which takes the 2023 crown! Trophy presentation coming soon.
...
Follow us on social media:
