Amy Mizner

A 5-year-old brokerage that specializes in sales of high-end homes in the western suburbs has added a commercial real estate division designed to tap into demand for investment properties.

Benoit Mizner Simon & Co. (BMS), which has 77 brokers at offices in Weston and Wellesley, saw a need to represent potential buyers of office, retail and mixed-use properties. Amy Mizner, a principal with BMS, said she frequently has residential clients who express an interest in acquiring small commercial properties as investments.

“The needs of these people were too small for the big Boston commercial brokerages to service, so I didn’t know where to refer this business to,” Mizner said. “That was my first sign that there is a synergy between residential and commercial.”

Mizner founded the agency five years ago along with Sheryl Simon and Debi Benoit. The agency specializes in residential listings in the Metrowest region, with total sales volume topping $400 million in 2015.

Gerry Connors, who joined the agency a year ago, is a veteran commercial broker in the western suburbs and will lead the new division from the Weston office. She’ll be joined by Roberta Fitzgerald, Jacqueline Fitzpatrick and Michael Lefebvre, all of whom have more than a decade of local real estate experience.

The growing popularity of mixed-use developments in the suburbs fits into the company’s new hybrid model, Mizner said.

“We’re experts in residential and know how to market that, but to be able to bring in the brokers who can analyze mixed-use data makes our company stronger,” she said.