The 2017 Curbed Cup winner is... South Loop!

Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood has emerged the 2017 Curbed Cup winner! In a final match up against last year’s champion Woodlawn, it faced steep competition.

This is the first time the neighborhood has gone all the way, and it’s likely the area’s whirl of development and strong start helped it claim neighborhood of the year.

The South Loop has always been a contender in Curbed Cup, but the area struggled to outlast competition. The only exception was in 2013 when it reached the Final Four, just to be knocked out by the eventual winner, Chinatown.

For the South Loop, 2017 was a break out year. Just to name a few major developments: The 78 and Discovery Partners Institute, the Chicago Sky move to Wintrust Arena, Marriott Marquis high-rise hotel, the new Columbia College student center, and plenty of other development.

There was also the Helmut Jahn and Kara Mann’s 1000M along with Rafael Vinoly’s One Grant Park high rises which will make quite a difference in the Chicago skyline.

Not only is the South Loop a hotspot for attention-grabbing development—its also home to the historic Printers Row and Motor Row buildings, college campuses, the Wabash Arts Corridor, theaters, jazz clubs and is within arms reach of Millennium Park, McCormick Place, Museum Campus and Soldier Field.

So welcome to the Curbed Cup winner’s circle, South Loop. It took some time and a couple skyscrapers but you made it to the top. The final bracket is below—cheers to the South Loop!