This is the ninth in a series
of profiles that chronicle Alexandria's Living Legends,
people who are today's history makers. Living Legends of
Alexandria is a joint project of the Rotary Club of
Alexandria and the Alexandria Gazette Packet. Conceived
and directed by Nina Tisara, it is designed as an
ongoing project to identify and honor those individuals
whose vision and dedication make a tangible difference
to the quality of life in Alexandria. For more
information or to nominate a Legend for next year's
program, visit tisaraphoto.com/legends.
Ask
Living Legend Engin Artemel the right questions and you
can return to a time when Alexandria’s waterfront was a
very scary place. The fact that today we have the luxury
of debating how much open space should be balanced by
how much development stems in large measure from
Artemel’s success in banishing the scary bits.
He conjures up threatening specters from the
waterfront’s recent past: Norton Rendering Plant, Bogle
Arsenic Plant, the coal depot in what is now Waterfront
Park or Atlantic Richfield test firing rockets at
Oronoco Bay. Instead, today’s waterfront is a
flourishing center of activity, including water-related
or dependent uses, where residents and visitors have
access to the Potomac via well-loved,
beautifully-maintained parks. And we have the luxury of
public debate about the future of a safe, vibrant,
City-owned waterfront.
To get here, Alexandria
and the Federal Government had to resolve the
long-simmering issue of who owned the waterfront. Ever
since the Virginia portion of the District of Columbia
was re-ceded to the state, Virginia has ended at the
water’s edge. But if you have filled in portions of the
river and built on that fill, to whom does the new land
belong? Artemel was instrumental in resolving the
Waterfront Title Suit for a majority of the properties
along the Potomac clearing the way for providing public
access to the river.
MOST PEOPLE wanted to
avoid a Harper’s Ferry situation where the Park Service
owned and operated the waterfront. So the City convened
all the interested parties with Artemel taking a leading
role. He began by identifying the areas in which City
officials, property owners, residents and the Park
Service were in agreement which helped clarify areas of
disagreement.
Two things complicated the
settlement issue. First, there was no unanimity on what
the City should do if it owned the land. People held
various views from those who favored commerce to others
who wanted a continuous band of tree-filled open space.
Eventually, agreement was reached on 10 points such as
all streets ending in open space, the public having
access to the water and there being space for active and
passive use.
Second, settlement of the suit
simply opened the way for acquisition of the properties;
it did not give the properties to the City. Artemel led
efforts to negotiate acquisition using swaps, donations,
even purchase. For example, in exchange for giving up
plans to build three residential towers, the City traded
the surplus Fickling School site to Watergate and
developed Founders Park. When the CEO of Texaco, a
United Way Board member, announced plans to donate
Texaco’s tank farm at Oronoco Bay to the United Way, the
City asked for a part of the property donation and
created Oronoco Bay Park. When Virginia Concrete no
longer needed barge traffic to operate, the City
exchanged this waterfront property to create Waterfront
Park. Efforts such as these achieved a great deal with
minimal cost.
WATERFRONTS MATTER to
Artemel who was raised along the Bosporus in Istanbul,
Turkey. It is an area geographically similar to
Alexandria where the Black Sea and the Mediterranean
come together. There, the waterfront is seen as a
unifying rather than dividing factor.
Artemel
left Turkey for school in California where he earned a
degree in architecture and worked for a time as an
architect. He began his trek east when he moved to
Kansas to teach at the University of Kansas. With his
architectural background, he also functioned as the
campus planner which inspired him to get a master’s
degree in Urban Planning and another degree in Civil
Engineering. He taught while practicing as a partner in
an architectural firm.
Artemel’s first wife
Janice was an anthropologist who was developing ties
with the Smithsonian so eventually they moved further
east to this area. Bud Hart, who nominated Engin for the
Living Legend recognition, involved Engin in the New
America project in the Eisenhower Valley. This project
was not developed but allowed Artemel to discover
Alexandria and eventually led to his being hired as
deputy for long-range planning to Alexandria’s Director
of Planning and Community Development (note the former
title) Dave Cooper. In the mid-1970s, Engin became
director, a position he held until 1984.
During
that time, Artemel took a contingent to study
waterfronts in Europe. To Artemel, an important part of
the development process is educating the public and
decision-makers about the issues. "First, study the
past; then ask for public input. Bring everyone together
to hear from the experts so the public gets to see the
possibilities. Sit down with an educated public and
develop your plans with them."
TODAY,
ARTEMEL and his French second wife Agnes live on the
waterfront with UVA student John and actively
participate in Alexandria both as citizens and
occasional advisors. He administers a consulting firm
advising in Alexandria and nearby areas and around the
world in locations such as Russia, Kazakhstan, and
Dubai. Issues include tourism, housing and, especially,
waterfronts.
He only paused once when asked if
he had any regrets for missed opportunities. He pondered
a moment and then said, "The Sheraton Hotel is not very
welcoming at street level. They did a good job with
their courtyard but not along the street. Also, the
Sheet Metal Workers building sits too high above North
Fairfax. It’s a good building but should be lower. The
City avoids such problems today because we have
site-planning tools. We require models that show how
proposed buildings fit into the surrounding areas."
What is Artemel most proud of? Surprisingly, it
is not a building project. Without hesitation, Engin
said, "Of keeping my family together." Artemel, Agnes
and first wife Janice collaborate occasionally on
projects. Each year, Artemel, Agnes and John spend
Thanksgiving at Janice’s house with their three
daughters, Suzan, Deniz, Sibel, and their families. That
fact offers an insight into the depth of the skills and
abilities Artemel used to keep the peace and shape
competing views into a successful waterfront
plan.
By Sherry Wilson Brown
Executive
Director, Agenda
Alexandria