As part of ongoing Best of Atlanta 2022 coverage, Urbanize’s second-annual Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament is kicking off with 16 places vying for the prestige of being called the city’s greatest. (Note: Seeding from 1 to 16 was determined by reader nominations this month, so no pitchforks, please.)

For each Round 1 contest, voting will be open for just 24 hours. Please, let’s keep the tourney fun and positive, as one neighborhood rises above the rest in very public fashion. The eliminations begin now!

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CASTLEBERRY HILL (8)

Castleberry's Benz-facing, music-themed hotel. Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

Highest home sale of 2022: $650K, for a three-bedroom townhome from 2019

Lowest: $185K, for a one-bedroom condo with 750 square feet

Median sales price decrease year-over-year: -.9 percent (November)

It was a year of changes seismic and small for this historic loft and arts district in the shadow of downtown. As the first ground-up new development roars to life at megaproject Centennial Yards next door, Castleberry Hill is welcoming a direct connection to that forthcoming action with the (almost ready) new Nelson Street Bridge, a pedestrian-only, open-container space that promises to be social. Speaking of social, rowdy and beloved dive bar Elliott Street Pub bowed out in ’22 after 15 years, selling to former NFL quarterback Cam Newton, who clearly remains bullish on the neighborhood.  

Early 2022 also saw the official debut of Castleberry’s first brewery—Atlantucky Brewing, which is owned and operated by members of Southern rap quartet Nappy Roots. On the relatively cheap housing front, for-sale condos came together in 2022 at the Lyric Lofts project (from the low $300,000s). And after years of planning and construction, HGTV star Ty Pennington completed a boutique condo project in Castleberry called The Otis Building, priced from about a half-million bucks. So when it comes to star power, for what it’s worth, Castleberry shines.   

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WESTVIEW (9)

Example of throwback residential architecture Westview is known for. Photos by Eric Sun Photography; courtesy of Origins Real Estate of Georgia

Highest home sale of 2022: $960K, for a five-bedroom Craftsman bungalow from the 1920s

Lowest: $155K, for a two-bedroom cottage fixer-upper

Median sales price change year-over-year: None (November median: $400K)

For better or worse, Best Atlanta Neighborhood tournament newcomer Westview can think of 2022 as the year when home sales almost reached the $1-million mark (gasp!), which is also called doing a West End impression. Granted, that transaction was an outlier—and involved an exquisitely renovated 1920s bungalow with an immense 4,200 square feet—but it speaks to neighborly Westview’s status as a standout place among the leafy communities of Southwest Atlanta. It’s BeltLine-adjacent, home to a commercial node, and the birthplace of restauranteur Pinky Cole’s Slutty Vegan empire. An abundance of charming old residences (with a newer crop of modern-leaning projects, too) are dotted among Westview’s roughly 1,200 homes. Oh, and the 600-acre Westview Cemetery is gorgeous.

As nominator Julie recently put it: “I nominate Westview. It’s within walking distance of Lionel Hampton Park, the BeltLine, the awesome Westview Corner Grocery Store, which has pop-up chefs, and a local Kroger. The neighborhood is quiet, has plenty of trees, and is filled with beautiful old homes from the ’20s and ’30s.” Indeed!   

Now, please cast a vote below!  

(POLLING HAS CLOSED AFTER 24 HOURS. Thanks to all who participated, and congrats to Castleberry Hill.)