A company tied to the founders of Panda Express has scooped up a 42.8-acre slice of vacant land off International Golf Parkway in St. Johns, adding a hefty block of developable ground to the World Golf Village corridor. The deal lands as retail and logistics projects keep creeping out from the I-95 interchange, steadily reshaping this corner of northeast St. Johns County.
As reported by the Jacksonville Business Journal, the purchaser is listed as CFT NV Developments LLC, which closed on the 42.8-acre tract. That coverage identifies the property as vacant land just off International Golf Parkway, with no immediate building plans disclosed in connection with the sale.
According to an SEC filing, CFT NV Developments is owned in part by family trusts tied to Panda Express co-founders Andrew and Peggy Cherng, linking the purchase to the restaurant founders' investment vehicles. That ownership structure mirrors past Cherng-affiliated deals in which related entities have acquired land and development sites.
Where the Land Sits
The newly acquired parcel fronts International Golf Parkway near World Golf Village, a stretch that has seen a steady stream of retail and outparcel proposals in recent years. Local permit filings and prior reporting show a planned Walmart Supercenter at 3405 International Golf Parkway with multiple outparcels; those filings include proposals for a Panda Express and a Chipotle. The restaurant plans were covered as part of the broader Walmart project by the St. Johns Citizen.
Local Momentum and What Might Follow
The sale lands amid other large land moves in the area, including a Stiles-led joint venture purchase of an entitled 93-acre mixed-use site at World Commerce, along with county actions to support nearby industrial projects. Those transactions, and incentives approved for warehouses near World Golf Village, point to competing retail and logistics demand along the corridor, according to reporting by the Jax Daily Record.
What Comes Next
There are no public site plans yet tied to CFT NV Developments. Any future project on the property would need permits, potential infrastructure contributions, and a full county development review before anything moves beyond the dirt-and-survey-flag stage.
St. Johns County's online St. Johns County Development Tracker is the go-to tool for following rezoning requests and permit filings in the area and will show the next steps if and when applications for this site are submitted.
For nearby residents, the purchase is a strong hint that more retail, outparcels, and traffic could be headed to a corridor already marked for growth. For investors, it is another signal that there is still heavy appetite for large, developable tracts close to I-95. County filings and local planning reviews will reveal what the Cherng-linked buyer ultimately has in mind for the 42.8 acres.
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