Do you ever wonder how buildings get their names? I am not talking about historical figures or those that have made large charitable contributions honored with a building name. Or even educational buildings named after graduates to applaud careers or achievements like Ball State’s David Letterman Communications and Media Building or the Environmental School building in Los Angeles named after vice-president Al Gore. No, no. I am referring to buildings and developments around Orange County, NC.

I mean, was The Eliot named after the builders first born? And how about the Berkshire Chapel Hill? Y’all know that one, the first large apartment building to pop up out of an old torn up barbed wired parking lot (I’m sorry, some really liked the view of broken asphalt) in the Blue Hill District. To me, the Berkshires are a mountain range in western Massachusetts home to Norman Rockwell and Tanglewood. There is also an apartment complex in Carrboro called Berkshire 54, it is on Highway 54 but no mountain range.

How about Caraway Village, concept name for some time, The Edge. I kind of liked The Edge. Edge of town, made sense. Caraway reminds me of the seeds in a good loaf of Jewish rye or pumpernickel bread. The Court Deli near Yankee Stadium had the best Jewish rye, yum, loaded up with pastrami and spicy brown deli mustard, jeeze, you didn’t have to eat for two days after one of those sandwiches, but I digress.

There was the Bicycle Apartments, student housing off Martin Luther King Blvd built with little to no parking encouraging students to bike to campus or ride public transit. Y’all know what that is called now? If you guessed LUX you are correct.

Glen Lennox is named by planner and original owner William Muirhead after his Scottish heritage. Glen, the Scottish word for a narrow, secluded valley, and his wife’s maiden name Lennox. You can read more about the history of Glen Lennox here. Many of our local greats called Glen Lennox home at one point or another while living in Chapel Hill including then student and future owner Robert Lay Grubb. Roy Williams lived there while he was the assistant coach of the men’s basketball team. In 2011 I was appointed by the Mayor of Chapel Hill, Mark Kleinschmidt, to serve as one of the liaisons to the Glen Lennox Conservation District Plan committee. The district plan moved forward with long needed updates and changes to zoning to allow for the Linden and Calyx apartments, named for their unique designs fashioned after pioneering British textile designer Lucienne Day, to be built. The Gwendolyn, also part of the district plan, was named after Gwendolyn Harrison, the first African American woman to attend UNC.

Southern Village, the new “old” neighborhood is probably named after the small area plan for the southern quadrant of Chapel Hill. Makes sense. If you have been around long enough you can remember that fight. Phew! What! A neighborhood built for bikes and pedestrians instead of focusing on cars. Meadowmont, also a town square concept, was home to the Barbee family plantation. Later sold to Pierre DuBose who built the family home which his wife Valinda, named Meadowmont. I find it interesting when people name their homes. If you take a walk through Historic Hillsborough you will see many homes with their names and dates proudly posted in the front yard. Twin Chimneys comes to mind.

Let’s take a look at some future names of proposed developments and apartments.

Alexander Court – Probably someone’s first born, again?

Aspen Heights – Off MLK, really! I have never seen an Aspen tree in Chapel Hill. Have you?

Aura – Oh boy! There is not one, not two, but three concept plans with the name Aura. One in Blue Hill, one off MLK and one on Elliot Road. Someone is going to have to change the name or there will be a lot of confused Grubhub meals showing up at the wrong apartment building. What does Aura mean anyway? Could be considered a way someone expresses themself. Used in a sentence, “Her presence brought an aura of dignity to the proceedings”. Or, “The garden has an aura of mystery and romance”. Some think aura is a physical sensation like tingling, numbness or dizziness. Three developments named Aura are making me dizzy.

Gimghoul Castle – Ah! The mysterious castle once known as the Hippol Castle, wants to expand. It has long been associated with the secret society known as the Order of the Gimghoul. And what is that? Well I guess it remains a secret, however, my research exposed the real meaning. Having 999 Gimmighoul Coins in Pokemon language causes Gimmighoulto to evolve into Gholdengo when it levels up, after which the coins are consumed. So I guess the castle will level up and create more space for secret society activity.

Flats – Off MLK. Proposed student housing. Flats, what are we in England? They’re apartments. Stop being so fancy!

Hillmont – It’s a hill instead of a meadow!

Gateway – Yea, lots of stuff is named Gateway. Gateway to what?

Link – Apartments on Rosemary Street. This is likely the working name. Stay tuned to see what the final project will be called.

Chapel Hill Crossing – Crossing what? Boring name

Lullwater Park – Lull – calming or to pause. There are quite a few developments named Lullwater throughout NC, who knew? Lullwater House, home to the President of Emory College in Atlanta, was once owned by Asa Griggs Candler Sr. who purchased the Coca-Cola recipe from chemist John Smith Pemberton for $238.98 and went on to develop the Coca-Cola Company in 1892.

Some of the most used development and apartment names;

The View, Sky Way, The Glenn, Park Place, Apollo, The Oaks, Court Crossing, Ocean Shores, Fairways, The York, Sunset Towers, The Crossing (sound familiar), The Mill, The Flats (hum), Town Square, Park Ridge, Garden View, The Bend, Waterside, Millennium, Lakeside, and one of my favorites, Infinity, yep that’s where Buzz Lightyear lives. I did find a Penny Luxury Apartment in the village of Kokkari in Greece. I’ll add it to my bucket list.

Penny and her family moved to Chapel Hill in 1998. She soon joined the Town of Chapel Hill’s Telecommunications and Technology advisory board and was appointed by the town to the OWASA board of directors where she served 6 years and held the Vice Chair position. In 2009 she ran and was elected to the town council in Chapel Hill, and in 2012 ran and was elected to the BOCC where she served 8 years, the last two as chair of the board. Penny owns and operates a personal chef and catering company and has been published in Cary Magazine, Gourmet Magazine, INDY Week, Southern Neighbor and News14. She lives in Carrboro with her mom Jersey Jacky. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

Related Stories
None