Instagram: Wynwood Walls via @streetart_chilango (artist: Alexis Diaz)/Sunset Harbour via @Sunset Harbour
The Curbed Cup, our annual award for the South Florida neighborhood of the year, kicked off with 16 areas vying for the trophy. For this week's Elite Eight, we'll have two matchups per day, with a Final Four announced on Wednesday. Voting for each pairing ends 24 hours after it begins.
Wynwood/Midtown is Miami's rising star and defeated Little Haiti in Round 1. Engulfed by bars, restaurants, art galleries and condos, it's become one of South Florida's go-to hot spots, boxing out elderly neighborhoods like Coconut Grove and Coral Gables. The food scene is especially taking off. Sugarcane continues to be one of Miami's top overall restaurants, Zak the Baker makes all other bread stale in comparision, Wood Tavern is one of the city's most affordable happy hours and Latteria Italiana is the home of the best gelato in South Florida (don't fight me on this). The area's condos are in high demand, with Hyde Midtown breaking ground this year. Mana Wynwood also might be on the cusp of dynamic expansion. But it's not just gravy in these parts. Prices are skyrocketing and much to the dismay of its residents, 200,000 square feet of Walmart is coming.
Sunset Harbour, a former Curbed Cup champion (2013), is alive after a big-time upset in the opening round against MiMo District, last year's champ. The area features two restaurants - Pubbelly and Lucali - in Eater's 2015 list of Miami's 38 best restaurants. South Beach's cute neighbor has experienced a tough year, with city construction projects overtaking the area. Sunset Harbour's most redeeming quality is its walkability, from solid restaurants (Lucali, Pubbelly, Icebox, etc) to bars (Purdy Lounge) coffee shops (Panther) to grocery shopping (Publix, Fresh Market) and fitness (Green Monkey, Flywheel). Its limited supply of living options has created massive demand and lofty prices, with one-bedroom units at 1800 and 1900 Sunset Harbour Drive starting at around $3,000 a month.
· Curbed Cup 2015 [Curbed Miami]