The Washington Sanitary Improvement Company (WSIC) was a late 19th century charitable capitalism experiment that ended in the 1950s. This blog started looking at the homes that were supposed to be sold to African American home buyers, after decades of mainly renting to white tenants.
Looking at WSIC properties they tend to have a pattern where the properties were sold to a three business partners, Nathaniel J. Taube, Nathan Levin and James B. Evans as the Colonial Investment Co. for $3 million dollars. Those partners sold to African American buyers. There was usually a foreclosure. Then the property wound up in the hands of George Basiliko and or the DC Redevelopment Land Agency (RLA).
Let’s see if 1535 3rd St NW fit this pattern:
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold 1533 3rd St NW to Bernice T & Elsworth R. Turner.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 1951) the Turner’s borrowed $6,750 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- August 1958 the Turners lost their home to foreclosure.
- August 1958, as part of a larger package, new partner Harry Badt & his wife transfer a portion of their interest in the property to the survivors of Nathan Levin.
- November 1961 (recorded 1/5/1962), as part of a larger package the Colonial Investment team (Evans, Badt, their wives, and Levin’s survivors) sell their interest in 1535 3rd St NW to Sophia and George Basiliko.
- July 1970, as part of a larger package, George Basilko sold 1535 3rd St NW to the DC Redevelopment Land Agency.
So all the boxes were checked. Foreclosure, check. Sold to George Basiliko, check. Sold to DC RLA, check.