The billionaire owners of Panda Restaurant Group, parent company of the Panda Express restaurant chain, have put their Honolulu penthouse up for sale for about $3.6 million, according to public records.
Andrew Cherng and Peggy Cherng, the husband-and-wife founders of Panda Express, have been busy buying Hawaii real estate.
The Cherngs recently purchased a beachfront mansion on Honolulu’s Kahala Avenue that was once owned by the late Honolulu attorney David Schutter for $15.2 million, as first reported by PBN.
They also purchased a parcel in Kapolei in West Oahu from Wal-Mart Stores inc. for $5.75 million.
The Cherngs are now selling their penthouse at the Hokua condominium near Ward Village in Honolulu. The three-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom corner unit, which was purchased in 2013 for $3.1 million, is being sold fully furnished. The unit has a total assessed value of about $3 million.
A real estate source tells PBN that the Cherngs bought the penthouse with cash, and tried to sell it last year for about $3.8 million.
The Cherngs, who also paid cash for their Kahala Avenue property purchase, apparently plan to build a new home on that property and may be spending more time in Hawaii.
Trevor Benn, president of Honolulu-based Benn Pacific Group Inc., told PBN that the list of billionaires who have residences in Hawaii is growing.
“Our clean environment and natural beauty, together with strong private schools, make it attractive to the affluent at different life stages,” he said. “Our challenge remains providing housing for all income levels.“
The California-based Panda Restaurant Group, which also owns Panda Inn and Hibachi-San, has 19 Panda Express locations in Hawaii.
PBN reached out to the Panda Restaurant Group for comment Tuesday.
Duane Shimogawa
Reporter
Pacific Business News
