WASHINGTON, DC-J Street Cos. has decided that the single-family home business—although clearly picking up and even gaining the attention of many institutional investors—is not for it. So it has sold its residential business, Randall Hagner Residential to a Long & Foster company for an undisclosed amount. “We like the business, but for a smaller organization like ourselves it's difficult to straddle both residential and commercial,” J Street Cos.’ president Bruce Baschuk tells GlobeSt.com.

However the company is interested in the residential asset class--very interested in fact—but only in its commercial incarnation. Multifamily and condos are two categories in which J Street is about to become active, Baschuk says.

The firm has a property under contract for approximately $40 million and another ground lease in the pipeline for about half that amount, he says. J Street acquired Randall Hagner in 2007, followed by another commercial real estate company acquisition, Woodmark, in 2008. At first the company leaders thought they would be able to develop synergies between the residential and commercial lines of business, Baschuk says—similar to the pattern established by Coldwell Banker. It didn’t work out and the company received a “good offer” for the residential operation from W.C. & A.N. Miller.

“Our strength lies in the commercial realm,” Baschuk says. “DC is one of the best commercial markets out there and that is where we will continue to focus.”