Is “Kent” a Real DC Neighborhood?

Where is Kent and can you call it a D.C. neighborhood

From the Washington City Paper blog Housing Complex

Could these chairs be situated in “Kent”?

This item in Washingtonian magazine’s latest roundup of luxury home sales caught my eye:

“Dermatologist Tina Alster and her husband, Paul Frazer, sold a five-bedroom, seven-bath stucco house in Kent for $3.8 million. The house has a wine cellar and five fireplaces. A former Canadian diplomat, Frazer is a senior adviser for mCapitol Management, a government-relations firm.”

Alster, Frazer—best of luck. I have no issue to take up with either of you. What made me do a double take was “Kent.” Never heard of it before! With a price tag like that, I immediately ruled out some random exurb, unless Alster and Frazer bought the house and the entire town along with it. Could Kent be a section of McLean? Potomac? Perhaps a swath of land once part of Jack Kent Cooke’s kingdom, and thus renamed (sort of like Dolly Parton and Dollyville, her amusement park)?

Nope, nope and nope. The blurb is filed under D.C., not Maryland or Virginia. I consulted the Washington City Paper’s Hoods & Services Guide, the ultimate authority on D.C. neighborhoods. Nada.

To our two in-house neighborhood experts, I then inquired “Ever heard of Kent?” Responses weren’t exactly meaty.

On first googling, here’s what I’ve retrieved: a sparse description of Kent as an area in upper Northwest. If any Kentians want to chime in, please do so either below or at rsamuelson@washingtoncitypaper.com (preferably both).

We’ll get to the bottom of this folks.

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