3. Real Estate Assets

Real estate assets consist of:


	Estimated
	Useful Lives	Aug. 31, 2019		Nov. 30, 2018
Land		$	27,374	$	21,961
Land improvements	10 to 30 years		34,005		38,280
Buildings and improvements	10 to 40 years		202,399		204,258
Tenant improvements	Shorter of useful life or terms of related lease		28,827		29,163
Machinery and equipment	3 to 20 years		7,557		10,958
Construction in progress			16,641		562
Development costs			13,502		13,443
			330,305		318,625
Accumulated depreciation			(102,396)		(105,004)
		$	227,909	$	213,621

Total depreciation expense and capitalized interest related to real estate assets were as follows:


	For the Three Months Ended				For the Nine Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2019		Aug. 31, 2018		Aug. 31, 2019		Aug. 31, 2018
Depreciation expense	$	2,583	$	2,399	$	7,773	$	7,258

Capitalized interest	$	160	$	206	$	289	$	338

Real estate assets held for sale consist of:


	Aug. 31, 2019		Nov. 30, 2018
Land	$	323	$	1,645
Land improvements		4,355		—
Buildings and improvements		2,622		—
Tenant improvements		509		—
Machinery and equipment		3,400		—
Development costs		1,009		1,007
		12,218		2,652
Accumulated depreciation		(10,081)		—
	$	2,137	$	2,652

On May 3, 2019, Griffin closed on the sale of approximately 280 acres (the “Simsbury Land Sale”) of undeveloped land in Simsbury, Connecticut. Griffin received cash proceeds of $7,700, before transaction costs, and recorded a pretax gain of $7,349 on the Simsbury Land Sale. The buyer plans to use the land to generate solar electricity. The net cash proceeds, after transaction costs, of $7,627 from the Simsbury Land Sale were deposited into escrow and subsequently used for the acquisition (see below) of replacement properties in a like-kind exchange (“1031 Like-Kind Exchange”) under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, for income tax purposes.

On July 16, 2019, Griffin closed on the purchase of approximately 36 acres of undeveloped land in Charlotte, North Carolina for $4,725, before transaction costs, and on July 18, 2019, Griffin closed on the purchase of an adjacent approximately 8 acres of undeveloped land for $855, before transaction costs, resulting in a combined land parcel of approximately 44 acres (the “Charlotte Land”). Both land purchases were replacement properties under a 1031 Like-Kind Exchange for the Simsbury Land Sale. Griffin plans to construct approximately 500,000 square feet of industrial/warehouse space on the Charlotte Land.

On December 26, 2018, Griffin closed on the sale of development rights for approximately 116 acres (the “East Windsor Land”) of undeveloped land in East Windsor, Connecticut. Griffin received cash proceeds of $866, before transaction costs, and recorded a pretax gain of $52 on the sale of the development rights. On April 1, 2019, Griffin closed on the sale of the East Windsor Land for $700, before transaction costs, and recorded a pretax gain of $42 on the sale of the land. The gain on the development rights and the gain on the subsequent sale of the land were not significant as the cost basis of the East Windsor Land was relatively high.

On April 26, 2018, Griffin closed on the sale of approximately 49 acres (the “Southwick Land Sale”) of undeveloped land in Southwick, Massachusetts. Griffin received cash proceeds of $850, before transaction costs, and recorded a pretax gain of $794 on the Southwick Land Sale. The net cash proceeds, after transaction costs, of $847 from the Southwick Land Sale were deposited into escrow for the acquisition of a replacement property in a 1031 Like-Kind Exchange. On July 18, 2018, Griffin closed on the purchase of an approximately 22 acre parcel of undeveloped land in Concord, North Carolina for a purchase price of $2,600, before transaction costs, as a replacement property under a 1031 Like-Kind Exchange.

In the 2019 nine month period, real estate assets held for sale, net, was reduced by $515 reflecting (a) a reduction of $1,741 for property sales that closed, partially offset by (b) an increase of $1,226 from real estate assets, net, being transferred into real estate assets held for sale, net, as a result of entering into agreements to sell such real estate. Included in real estate assets transferred into real estate assets held for sale, net, in the 2019 nine month period were the assets of Griffin’s nursery farm in Quincy, Florida (the “Florida Farm”), the approximately 7,200 square foot restaurant building (the “Restaurant Building”) in Griffin Center in Windsor, Connecticut, and approximately seven acres of undeveloped land in Windsor as Griffin entered into agreements to sell these properties (see Note 9).