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 119 Bates St NW:
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) Evans, Levin and Taube sold one-half of 119 Bates St NW to Mazine W. and William N. Jackson.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 18, 1951) the Jacksons borrowed $2,150 from Colonial Investment Co. favorite trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- December 1950 (recorded Jan 26, 1951) Evans, Levin, and Taube sold the other half of 119 Bates St NW to Lois L. and Lorenzo Hobbs.
- December 1950 Mr. & Mrs. Hobbs borrowed $2,150 from trustees Abraham H. Levin and Robert G. Weightman.
- April 1953 the Hobbs lost their half to foreclosure. Evans, Levin and Taube got the property back via an auction.
- April 1953 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosed property to Bernice R. and Romus Smith.
- April 1953 the Smiths borrowed $2,672.55 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
- August 1953 the Jacksons lost their half of the house to foreclosure. Evans, Levin and Taube got the property back via an auction.
- August 1953 Evans, Levin and Taube resold the foreclosure to Ellen N. and Stuart G. Johnson.
- August 1953 the Johnsons borrowed $2,918.26 from trustees Levin and Weightman.
- May 1955 the Johnsons lost their half of the house to foreclosure. And once again Evans, Levin and Taube get it back via an auction.
- November 1961, as part of a larger property package, new owner Harry A. Badt, Evan, Taube, their wives, and Nathan Levin’s survivors sold part of the property to Sophia and George Basiliko.
- June 1971 the Smiths sold their half to George Basiliko.
- Between 1971 and 1978 the property was transferred to the Bates Street Ventures Partnership from Basiliko.
I am not sure if there is any relationship between the Bates Street Ventures and Bates Street Associates. Anywho, there were several foreclosures and it wound up the the hands of Basiliko.