Gary Schlager, Principal of West, Lane & Schlager Realty Advisors, LLC (“WLS”), specializes in tenant representation and strategic real estate consulting in the Washington, DC area. Prior to forming WLS, he served for nine years as Senior Vice President at Transwestern Commercial Services, a national commercial real estate firm.

Gary has been retained by a broad group of clients including local businesses, Fortune 500 corporations, trade associations, nonprofit organizations and law firms. This experience, coupled with graduate studies in real estate finance and development, has helped hone Gary’s analytical skills and market knowledge as well as to develop his thorough understanding of transaction structures from both the tenant and owner’s perspective. Gary is a frequent speaker and instructor both within the real estate industry and the nonprofit community. He is recognized inside and outside the firm for his professionalism, integrity and expertise.

EXPERIENCE

Gary began his real estate career in 1989. During this tenure he has represented clients in transactions totaling over $1 billion in aggregate value, which places him among the industry’s most experienced advisors. He has assisted his clients in all three major market areas—leasing office/industrial space, purchasing small headquarter properties and the acquisition of large, investment grade office buildings. Gary is a lifetime member and fifteen-time award winner for leasing production from the Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS ® (“GWCAR”). He has been ranked twice in the top-ten of all regional brokers by GWCAR for leasing production in Washington, DC and holds a former #1 ranking for leasing production in Northern VA and a #2 ranking for leasing volume in the entire Washington Metropolitan Area.

Gary believes in the client for life theory and nurtures his relationships well beyond the completion of a project. This has led to regular repeat business and ongoing advisory projects. Gary’s clients include industry peers such as the National Association of REALTORS ® and the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors ®, the leading commercial real estate trade association in the United States. He has also managed Verizon Communications’ national portfolio encompassing more than one hundred million square feet. One of Gary’s most noteworthy Verizon projects was a 350,000 square foot assignment that included a cost, market and operational comparison of a headquarters lease renewal versus relocation. In the end, Mr. Schlager’s negotiations resulted in a $45 million savings for Verizon over their ten-year lease and set a record for the lowest net effective rate in Northern Virginia in the year completed.

EDUCATION, PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS, COMMUNITY WORK AND SPORTING

Gary earned his MBA from George Washington University where he graduated with honors. During his time at George Washington University he concentrated in the areas of real estate development and urban planning. He also holds a BBA in finance from the Emory University School of Business Administration.

Gary is an active member of the Greater Washington Commercial Association of REALTORS® (“GWCAR”), the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”), the American Society of Association Executives (“ASAE”), the Finance & Administration Roundtable (“FAR”) and the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (“GWSAE”). He also holds the prestigious Specialist, Industrial and Office Real Estate (“SIOR”) designation awarded by the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors ®. This professional designation is held by less than 3 percent of all commercial real estate professionals in the United States.

Gary is actively involved in community and charitable organizations and has served on the board of directors for several organizations including The Woodley House and the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District. He is also a former faculty advisor for the University of Maryland’s Executive MBA program where he helped educate aspiring real estate practitioners in real estate finance and investment. In the summer of 2013, Gary competed in the 19th World Maccabiah Games in Israel as a member of Team USA. The Maccabiah Games are the third largest sporting event in the world comprising more than 9,000 athletes from 71 countries.