Strawberry Hill Shopping Centre’s new ownership group plans to wait a while before redeveloping the large Surrey, B.C. asset, says the real estate agent who brokered the sale.

Yashar Khalighi, a vice-president in CBRE’s Vancouver office, told the Surrey Now-Leader that the owners, previously identified as Strawberry Hill Shopping Centre Holding, understand that the property has development potential. But the firm’s investors are not developers per se.

“My understanding is that it’s going to be business as usual there, so the new owners are basically going to hold the property for the time being,” Khalighi told the Now-Leader.

RioCan REIT sold the mall for $155 million in one of the largest retail real estate deals in Canada in 2023. Situated on 35 acres, Strawberry Hill is near the new Scott Road RapidBus service.

In a news release, the Now-Leader reported, Khalighi said the Strawberry Hill property has “significant holding income” from national and local tenants.

“There is large potential for long-term phased development to bolster the city’s plans for future densification in the area,” he said. “These plans include the creation of much needed residential and rental housing adjacent to the city’s major transit hub.”