SREP Expands Industrial Footprint with Major Projects in North Carolina and Minnesota

ATLANTA, GA – February 26, 2026 – SCOA Real Estate Partners (SREP), the real estate investment arm of Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, has announced the closing of two significant Class A industrial developments, signaling a confident and strategic expansion into key American logistics corridors. The projects, totaling over 330,000 square feet, include a custom-built facility in North Carolina and a major speculative warehouse in Minnesota, underscoring the company’s dual approach of meeting immediate tenant demand while betting on future market growth.

The transactions, which closed in January 2026, involve an 81,120-square-foot build-to-suit warehouse in Mooresville, North Carolina, and the 250,117-square-foot River Edge Business Center in Fridley, Minnesota. Both projects are designed with top-tier specifications aimed at bolstering local economies, attracting new business, and creating jobs in their respective regions.

A Tale of Two Markets: Custom and Speculative Growth

The two projects perfectly illustrate SREP's adaptable investment strategy. The Mooresville facility is a build-to-suit project, meaning it is being constructed for a specific, pre-committed tenant. In this case, the warehouse is fully leased to QA1 Brands, a prominent manufacturer of high-performance automotive components. This approach mitigates risk and ensures the development directly serves an immediate, tangible need within the market.

In contrast, the River Edge Business Center in Fridley is a speculative development. By building without a tenant signed in advance, SREP and its local partner are demonstrating strong confidence in the Minneapolis-St. Paul industrial market's fundamentals and its ability to absorb new, high-quality industrial space. This strategy is crucial for providing move-in-ready inventory for businesses looking to expand or relocate quickly.

"These two investments reflect our core strategy of partnering with the best developers in our target markets and delivering projects that towns, companies and their employees will be proud of," said Tyler Darden, Senior Vice President and Head of Industrial Investments at SCOA Real Estate Partners.

This partnership-driven model allows SREP, established in 2023, to rapidly deploy capital and leverage deep regional expertise, accelerating its growth in the competitive U.S. industrial sector.

Fueling the 'Race City USA' Economy in Mooresville

The Mooresville project is strategically located within the booming Charlotte metropolitan area, a region that has solidified its status as a premier logistics and manufacturing hub in the Southeast. Its location near major arteries like I-77 and I-85, coupled with access to Charlotte Douglas International Airport, makes it a critical node for supply chains.

The facility's tenant, QA1, specializes in suspension, chassis, and steering components for performance vehicles. The new 81,120-square-foot warehouse will serve as the company's East Coast operations center, a move that follows its 2024 acquisition of Mooresville-based Detroit Speed & Engineering. The expansion is a direct response to surging demand and will allow QA1 to expand its manufacturing capabilities, grow its local team of 45 employees, and enhance its custom car shop. This investment provides a clear example of how modern industrial real estate directly supports corporate growth and manufacturing reshoring trends.

SREP is partnering on the project with Trinity Capital Advisors, a heavyweight in Southeastern commercial real estate with a portfolio exceeding $5.8 billion. This collaboration marks SREP's second industrial project in the Charlotte area but its first-ever build-to-suit development, a significant milestone for the firm.

"We're excited for this new partnership with SREP and the opportunity to work with QA1," said Jordan Quinn, Partner, Industrial at Trinity Capital. "SREP's successful investment strategy and our proven development experience will deliver a best-in-class asset that supports QA1's continued growth and success."

High-Tech Warehousing in the Twin Cities

Further north, the River Edge Business Center in Fridley, Minnesota, represents the future of industrial facilities. The approximately 250,000-square-foot infill project is being developed to meet the sophisticated needs of modern logistics and manufacturing tenants. Its specifications include a 36-foot clear height, which allows for greater vertical storage capacity and the use of advanced racking systems, and an impressive 5,000 amps of power, suitable for energy-intensive manufacturing or data center operations.

This speculative development is a calculated investment in the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area, a market experiencing consistent industrial demand fueled by a diverse economy and a renewed focus on domestic production. For this project, SREP has partnered with Endeavor Development, a highly respected Minneapolis-based firm founded by industry veteran Josh Budish. Endeavor has developed over 3 million square feet of industrial space in the region.

Josh Budish, founder of Endeavor Development, highlighted the project's transformative nature. "This project is another example of our efforts to identify the most attractive infill sites in the market and to work creatively and collaboratively with relevant stakeholders to re-envision and re-purpose obsolete buildings into new facilities that serve our clients and the communities they operate in," he said. "We're thankful for the partnership of SREP as we continue on this journey."

A New Force in U.S. Real Estate

While SCOA Real Estate Partners was only formally established in 2023, it is backed by the global might and over 35 years of U.S. real estate experience of its parent, Sumitomo Corporation of Americas. Headquartered in Atlanta, SREP was created to be a more agile and responsive vehicle for investing in and developing properties across the nation. Its thesis-driven strategy targets not only industrial and logistics facilities but also multifamily apartment communities and master-planned residential developments.

By executing both a targeted build-to-suit for a growing manufacturer and a forward-looking speculative warehouse in two distinct but vital U.S. markets, SREP is demonstrating the breadth and sophistication of its strategy. These projects do more than just add square footage to the national inventory; they provide the critical, high-quality infrastructure necessary to strengthen supply chains, foster innovation, and support economic vitality in key regional hubs across the country.