Looking back I can’t seem to find a deed transferring 54 Bates and other properties on the square from the DC Redevelopment Agency (DC RLA) to the Bates Street Associates (BSA).
So when 54 Bates was reviewed earlier this year, it ended with the whole thing sold to George Basiliko. It may have eventually fell into the hands of the DC RLA and then BSA, but as mentioned before, no deed. Instead, there’s a contract. Between 1970-1973 a lot of people on square 615 sold their properties to DC RLA. The DC RLA in turn had a contract with Bates Street Associates. One of those contracts was document # 8000020221. There’s also document 7800024140, but it seems the first couple of pages are missing.
It doesn’t help that 54 Bates is also lot 814 and formerly part of lot 173. It makes tracing the deed, for me, messy. Lot 173 was in the possession of DC RLA, lot 814 was not. But somehow, because I haven’t found the right documents, it goes from Basiliko’s ownership to BSA. Since I’ve seen properties Basiliko sold to BSA directly, I’m going to guess this is what happened.