Relive the Fun of 2021
We’re on our way to a new beginning! The new year represents a fresh start to many; a time to meet goals and start healthy habits. It also represents a time of reflection, when we look back at the moments of joy, accomplishment, and growth in the previous 365 days. Now we continue that tradition of reflection. Before we welcome 2022, let’s see 2021 to the door the right way — this is the year in review!
Chapel Hill Athletes Shine
Being the home of the University of National Champions, it’s no wonder that 2021 was a banner year for our town. Twelve Tar Heel athletes went to Tokyo to compete in the Olympics, three of which are current students! Sports the students and alumni competed in included women’s soccer, women’s rugby, track, gymnastics and baseball. In total, the Heels earned two silver medals and four bronze medals. The Heels brought home some hardware domestically too, as both men’s and women’s tennis teams each won a national championship for UNC.
Speaking of national championships, the man responsible for three of them in basketball, Roy Williams, hung up his Julian’s coaching jacket for good. Roy stepped down as head coach of the Tar Heels after a career of 903 wins, 25 conference championships, nine Final Four appearances, two Coach of the Year honors, a Hall of Fame induction and the aforementioned three national championships. Farewell Coach Williams! We thank you for all you’ve done for our area, and we look forward to what Coach Hubert Davis has in store!
Chapel Hill Makes Headlines
The COVID-19 pandemic has been some of the most challenging times we’ve gone through, but local researchers are helping the world see their way out of it. COVID-19 vaccines and therapies were developed with heavy involvement of local researchers at UNC-Chapel Hill. When Chapel Hill isn’t saving the world, we’re thriving as one of the best places in the country. That’s the case according to U.S. News & World Report who ranked the Chapel Hill/Raleigh/Durham area as the #2 best place to live in the United States this year.
In other local news, Pam Hemminger was elected to her fourth consecutive term as mayor of Chapel Hill. On campus, the University invited the community to submit new names for three buildings in their search to find honorees who represent inclusive values and worked for a positive impact on our community. Also creating buzz in town was a celebrity sighting of Gwyneth Paltrow on Franklin Street, who was rumored to be visiting the university with her daughter.
Chapel Hill Businesses Put Up the Open Sign
As vaccines became available to the public, many people were eager to support their favorite local businesses. 2021 saw a return to in-person dining and shopping; however, the pandemic took its toll and not every business survived. We lost long-time favorites like Crook’s Corner and Elmo’s, but we’re happy that many Chapel Hill institutions persevered and we even welcomed new businesses. Maple View gave us all a scare when it announced it was closing its dairy operations, but thank goodness they are still making ice cream!
We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention our own 2021 highlights. The first tenants at Link Apartments® Linden celebrated their one-year anniversary of moving in. We also saw the opening of The Gwendolyn, and the arrival of its first tenant, Coco. The Gwendolyn was named in honor of the first Black woman to enroll at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Grubb Properties took that tribute a step further by founding the Gwendolyn Harrison Smith Diversity Graduate Student Excellence Fund, a $5,000 annual scholarship.
2021 was certainly a monumental year we won’t soon forget, and we look forward to seeing you around the neighborhood in ’22!
