From Luxury Malls to Highways: EVCC™ PEDAS RSA Taps Cynthia Lim to Curate a First-of-Its-Kind Retail Experience
- Levn admin
- May 15
- 3 min read
Updated: Sep 3
Image Credit: theedgemalaysia.com
As highway rest stops evolve into full-service lifestyle destinations, the success of their retail mix has become central to long-term commercial viability. In a move that signals a shift from utilitarian facilities to curated commercial ecosystems, Levn Capital, master developer of EVCC™ PEDAS RSA, has appointed Metanoia Consulting Sdn Bhd — led by retail strategist Cynthia Lim — to spearhead the RSA’s retail configuration and planning.
PEDAS RSA, located at KM241 along the PLUS North-South Expressway, is Malaysia’s first privately developed, Platinum-rated RSA under the Electric Vehicle Charging Corridor (EVCC™) initiative. Designed to meet the needs of both electric vehicle users and modern highway travellers, the RSA’s vision integrates high-speed EV charging, green building practices, and a commercially resilient retail environment.
Delivering that vision requires not just infrastructure expertise — but deep, strategic insight into consumer behaviour and commercial tenancy dynamics.
That’s where Cynthia Lim comes in.
A Proven Leader in Retail Transformation
With over 15 years of experience in retail development and strategic leasing, Cynthia has played a central role in shaping some of Malaysia’s most prominent shopping destinations — including Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, fahrenheit88, TRX Mall (Lendlease), and Sunway Pyramid. At Pavilion, she was involved in the full retail planning and leasing execution; at Lendlease, she developed the tenant mix and leasing strategy for TRX’s flagship mall.
Now, she brings that mall-grade expertise to a new frontier: the highway RSA sector.
Through her boutique firm, Metanoia Consulting, Cynthia has been engaged to design, optimise, and configure the entire retail footprint of PEDAS RSA, aligning it with modern consumption habits and turnover expectations. Her scope includes determining zoning strategy, identifying key anchor categories, advising on drive-thru and kiosk formats, and ensuring that every square foot supports a curated and monetisable visitor experience.
Moving Beyond the Old RSA Model
Traditional rest stops often struggle with underutilised retail space, limited brand appeal, and a lack of experiential design. In contrast, the PEDAS RSA model — with Metanoia’s input — is being engineered as a retail-led infrastructure platform, tailored for high-frequency, short-duration visits. Tenants are selected not just for availability, but for their ability to convert fast-moving traffic into high-yield performance.
Cynthia’s approach reimagines the RSA through a mall-planning lens, ensuring:
Balanced tenant mix across F&B, convenience, lifestyle retail, and services
Optimised layout for visibility, flow, and intuitive wayfinding
Integrated zoning for dine-in, takeaway, and drive-thru formats
Revenue maximisation per square foot through dynamic leasing strategies
This RSA is not just a pit stop — it’s a destination designed to convert intent into spend, and traffic volume into tenant turnover.
A Strategic Edge in a Competitive Corridor
While PEDAS RSA is located just 30km from other RSAs, the quality of experience and retail curation is expected to attract a new segment of travellers — particularly those with higher spending power who are currently underserved by conventional RSAs. Savills’ feasibility study confirms this differentiation, projecting strong footfall conversion even in competitive zones, driven by premium offerings, superior design, and curated brand presence.
By engaging a retail expert of Cynthia’s calibre, Levn Capital signals its intent to set a new national standard for commercial planning within highway infrastructure — one that combines institutional real estate discipline with traveller-centric design.
Where Infrastructure Meets Insight
Metanoia Consulting’s involvement adds a unique layer of commercial intelligence to the EVCC™ PEDAS RSA development. Cynthia Lim’s ability to blend retail strategy, spatial design, and business culture transformation ensures that the project is not only operationally ready but also commercially future-proof.
Her appointment reflects a broader trend: the best highway RSAs of the future will borrow from the best practices of urban malls — in design, in tenant mix, and in experience delivery.
To learn more about the EVCC™ PEDAS RSA and its development journey, visit: www.evcc.my
For leasing opportunities or partnership enquiries, contact: inquiry@evcc.my
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