The Curbed Cup, our annual award for the New Orleans neighborhood of the year, is kicking off with 8 areas vying for the prestigious (fake) trophy. This week we'll have two matchups per day, and all the results and the full tournament bracket will be reviewed on Friday. Voting for each pairing ends 24 hours after it begins. Let the eliminations commence!

Welcome to the final round of Curbed Cup 2016. After a gruesome two weeks of competition, two neighborhoods will duke it out to win Curbed Cup 2016.

Today’s final match is the up-and-coming Mid-City Neighborhood vs. last year’s Curbed Cup Winner Algiers Point.

Remember, voting is open until January 2, 2017! Tell all of you friends, family and pets to vote for the 2016 Curbed Cup champion.

Mid-City

Mid-City has had a full year of developments. Recently, The City of New Orleans opened its first permanent VA Medical Center since Hurricane Katrina. The new center sits just beside the University Medical Center in the near complete medical district.

Additionally, the Mid-City Market, located on North Carrollton Avenue, has continued to mature into a neighborhood Hub. According to Developer Stirling Properties, owner of Mid-City market, the Carrollton shopping center is a fully leased as of October of 2016. The adjacent shopping center opened a new Marshall’s and Petco this past Fall.

Moreover, the Lafitte Greenway, which was completed in November of 2015, was selected by the National Recreation and Park Association to undergo renovations to create a community common area. Sidney Torres IV is even in the works of developing a new Mid-City apartment complex, located by the Lafitte Greenway.

Adding on to the city’s extensive list of developments, the Welcome Table of New Orleans recently unveiled its new paved community circle, located on Jefferson Davis Parkway and Cleveland Avenue. Now that’s a mouthful.

Algiers Point

On the top seed is 2015’s Curbed Cup winner, Algiers point. Over the past year, Algiers point has seen several interesting developments, including a Masonic Lodge that has been converted to hold a high-end apartments. The district has a several events, including neighborhood wide celebrations for the holidays and family-friendly movies on the weekend, which all promote unity on the Point. Earlier this year, the Algiers Point Ferry reinstated its later hours of operation, but it has had, on record, fewer riders since the price was raised to $2.

Additionally, in May of 2016, a developer considered building a beach in Algiers Point, but no further action has been taken. On the bright side, the city has a house market that is relatively inexpensive compared to many east bank neighborhoods.