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). Then there were the odd lucky ones who managed to avoid that fate.
Let’s see what happens with 1521 3rd St NW:
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 1521 3rd St NW to Agnes C. and George O. Faison.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Faisons borrowed $3,750 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 1521 3rd St NW to Widow Wardell White (nee Fletcher).
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 1951) Mrs. White borrowed $3,750 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- February 1963 Mrs. White paid off her mortgage.
- November 1967, the property was included in a larger package that was sold/transferred to Sophia and George Basiliko.
- November 1967, a few days after the Basiliko package, the Faisons paid off their mortgage.
This is a decent story. No foreclosures but Basiliko shows up for no reason.