The Curbed Cup 2013, our award to the New Orleans Neighborhood of the Year, is kicking off this week with eight 'hoods battling it out for the honor of a prestigious fake trophy and obviously, bragging rights. Voting for each match-up ends 24 hours after it begins. We'll showcase a neighborhood face-off per day through the week with results and the full tourney bracket reviewed on Friday. Let the eliminations begin!
Today's competition pits number two seed, the Central Business District against its number seven rival, the Riverbend area of Uptown. The CBD and its sub-district, the Warehouse District, received an equal number of votes so they're grouped in one category.
The CBD is a hotbed of development right now. There's the newly coined South Market District (can we please call it SoMad?), expensive luxury apartments in a former undertaker's office at 450 Julia, and new digs are in the works at 144 Elk Place and at the Oil & Gas Building. Fulton Alley introduced "boutique bowling" to the city; Chef Donald Link's Peche seafood restaurant has won some awards; and the Fountain Lounge opened in the Roosevelt Hotel. There's a hotel/retail set-up going on at 600 Carondelet St. and an Aloft Hotel/apartment combo is happening on Baronne Street. The Riverwalk is getting a makeover and will open as an upscale outlet mall; word should be released any day now on the future of the ArtWorks Building; and the abandoned Charity Hospital could come back to life. And then there's the story of the year happening in this 'hood: the development plans of the former World Trade Center at the foot of Canal Street.
On a calmer note, there's the Riverbend neighborhood Uptown, which one Curbed reader said, "is the only normal neighborhood in town." A developer is interested in building a five-story condo on Oak Street, right down the strip from where the "feminine, light and airy" Oak wine bar is adding on Ale, which "will appeal to a male audience." Anyway. Oak Street saw a few openings this year with vintage clothing shop Retro Active settling in, the pizza joint Mellow Mushroom, and a Bikram yoga studio. The po'boy festival is a force to be reckoned with, residents seem ecstatic about their 'hood: "I LOVE this place. I LOVE my neighbors. I LOVE my house!!" and the Camellia Grill could possibly get some historical landmark status.
The CBD or Riverbend, which will it be?
· Curbed Cup 2013 archives [Curbed NOLA]
· South Market District coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· 450 Julia coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· Luxury highrise taking over deserted Elk Medical Plaza [Curbed NOLA]
· Fulton Alley coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· Peche coverage [Eater NOLA]
· Fountain Lounge coverage [Eater NOLA]
· 600 Carondelet St. coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· Aloft hotel/225 Baronne St. coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· Outlet Collection at Riverwalk coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· Louisiana ArtWorks building coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· Charity Hospital coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· World Trade Center coverage [Curbed NOLA]
· Five-story structure of condos, gym may be in Oak St.'s future [Curbed NOLA]
· Oak plans to open Ale, a man-centric man cave for men [Eater NOLA]
· Camellia Grill may get historical status [Curbed NOLA]