About Us
Westy Kent, CEOwkent@kentcommercialinc.com
703-528-7799
For over 30 years, Westy Kent has successfully worked in the Commercial Real Estate industry achieving the respect of his peers and clients. During this time, Mr. Kent has successfully brokered countless lease and purchase transactions nationally as well as the Metropolitan Washington market.
Mr. Kent's distinguished resume includes thirteen years with Smithy-Braedon, achieving the position of Vice President. In 1994, Mr. Kent established Kent Commercial real estate brokerage exclusively representing tenants. As a result of 10 years of growth and expansion in Tenant Representation, in 2005, Kent Commercial, Inc. was established as a real estate corporation.
A sampling of Mr. Kent's current and previous clients include Stanley, Inc. (now CGI), Northrop-Grumman, AFSCME, CSSI and Luntz Communications.
Mr. Kent received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dickinson College in 1977 and a Master's of Science in Communications and Public Relations in 1980 from American University.
Mr. Kent is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia.
Richard Benswanger, Senior Directorrbenswanger@kentcommercialinc.com
301-231-0898
Richard Benswanger has been in commercial real estate for more than 23 years, associated with Kent Commercial, Inc. for the past 16 years. More than 35 years in the real estate and construction industry has provided Mr. Benswanger with an experienced understanding of real estate and business. Having owned a successful small business prior to his entering commercial real estate, Mr. Benswanger understands and appreciates the importance of the success of each facet of today's uncertain business climate.
Mr. Benswanger specializes in representing companies for their leasing, investment and ownership requirements. While Mr. Benswanger's emphasis is focused upon the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, his client relationships have taken him beyond this region to successfully complete transactions around the country.
His accomplishments include representing several government contractors, bioscience companies, traditional office users and several retail companies on their owner and occupant requirements.
Mr. Benswanger is licensed in the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia and is active member of several local organizations.
Mr. Benswanger attended the American University where he majored in English.
Kay Chewning, Senior Directorkchewning@kentcommercialinc.com
703-548-2220
Kay Chewning has been actively engaged in Commercial Real Estate for over 25 years. During most of this time, she has represented several of the largest Landlords in the Washington Metropolitan area, such as West*Group, The Evans Company, Tishman Speyer, Blake Real Estate and Vornado/Charles E. Smith. Realigning her focus on Tenant Representation, Ms. Chewning provides a wealth of knowledge and valuable insights for the needs of her Tenant clients to uniquely guide them through all of the aspects of their corporate real estate requirements.
Her ability to provide needs analysis, site selection, and an understanding of the commercial real estate lease are invaluable traits that greatly enhance the relationship between broker and tenant.
Kay graduated from Tulane University with a Bachelor's of Science Degree and earned a Paralegal designation in International Trade Law from L'Université Américaine de Paris. She has been involved with several professional organizations and is currently an active member of the National Association of Office and Industrial Parks ("NAIOP") and serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Washington Commercial Association of Realtors ("GWCAR").
Jim Mullen, Senior Directorjmullen@kentcommercialinc.com
703-298-1181
For more than 30 years, Jim Mullen has been successful in commercial real estate field spending his first 25 years as a Senior Director with Cushman & Wakefield of Virginia. Mr. Mullen has representedg numerous corporate, defense and technology-related companies in the Washington Metropolitan Area. In 2006, Mr. Mullen associated with Kent Commercial, Inc. to focus exclusively upon Tenant Representation.
Over the years, Mr. Mullen has completed in excess of 6.5 million square feet of leasing and sales transactions for Office, Flex/Warehouse, Industrial and Retail requirements. Mr. Mullen is a lifetime member of the Washington Board of Realtors Million Dollar Leasing Club.
He has a degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Southern Illinois University, is a Certified Commercial Lease Consultant and a licensed real estate broker in Virgina.
Diana Wahl, Associatedwahl@kentcommercialinc.com
703-532-3851
Diana Wahl has been engaged in real estate brokerage and development since 1980. Initially Ms. Wahl was an economic development coordinator for Arlington County, Virginia, becoming a leasing broker in 1982, focusing on landlord representation for the largest developer in the Washington Metropolitan area. She later shifted her focus to tenant representation, and for over Twenty-Seven years has worked with private companies, associations and non-profits to assess their space needs and to acquire (and dispose of) their space. In particular, Diana has a special understanding of the requirements of government contractors, whose facility needs are frequently changeable. Among her long-time clients are Axiom Resource Management, Inc., In-Q-Tel, Teledyne Brown Engineering, The Cadmus Group, and International Relief and Development.
Diana received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University where she majored in creative writing, and a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of Pittsburgh. When she is not working, Diana volunteers for the National Park Service as a bike patroller at the C&O Canal National Historic Park.
