Discontinued Operations

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Discontinued Operations [Abstract]

Discontinued Operations

Discontinued Operations

On September 20, 2011, Piedmont entered into an agreement to sell its interest (approximately 96.5%) in the office property known as the 35 W. Wacker Building for approximately $401.0 million, with an expected closing in the fourth quarter of 2011. In accordance with GAAP, Piedmont reclassified the building from real estate assets held for use to real estate assets held for sale on its consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2011. As such, Piedmont reclassified the operational results of the property as income from discontinued operations for prior periods to conform with current period presentation.

On August 31, 2011, Piedmont sold its office property known as 5000 Corporate Court Building in Holtsville, New York, and in accordance with GAAP, Piedmont reclassified the operational results of the property as income from discontinued operations for prior periods to conform with current period presentation. Piedmont recognized a gain of approximately $14.6 millionand net sales proceeds of approximately $36.3 million on the sale of the 5000 Corporate Court Building. However, such gain may change slightly in future periods pending the completion of Piedmont's obligations related to ongoing construction projects at the property.

On July 1, 2011, Piedmont sold its office property known as Eastpointe Corporate Center in Issaquah, Washington, and in accordance with GAAP, Piedmont reclassified the operational results of the property as income from discontinued operations for prior periods to conform with current period presentation. Piedmont recognized a gain of approximately $12.2 millionand net sales proceeds of approximately $31.7 million on the sale of the Eastpointe Corporate Center.

Additionally, on December 8, 2010, Piedmont sold its office property known as the 111 Sylvan Avenue Building, located in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and accordingly the operational results of the property for the nine months ended September 30, 2010, including a $9.6 million impairment charge that resulted from adjusting the assets to fair value, are presented as discontinued operations in the accompanying 2010 statement of operations. The fair value measurement used in the evaluation of this non-financial asset was considered to be a Level 1 valuation within the fair value hierarchy as defined by GAAP, as there were direct observations and transactions involving the asset (i.e. the asset was sold to a third-party purchaser).

The details comprising assets held for sale, consisting of the 35 W. Wacker Building, are presented below (in thousands):

	September 30, 2011		December 31, 2010
Real estate assets held for sale, net:
Land	$	55,573	$	55,573
Building and improvements, less accumulated depreciation of $41,754 and $37,442 as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively	167,024		164,343
Intangible lease assets, less accumulated amortization of $22,725 and $20,549 as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively	3,626		5,802
Construction in progress	2,673		2,560
Total real estate assets held for sale, net	$	228,896	$	228,278
Other assets held for sale:
Tenant receivables	$	11,790	$	10,737
Deferred financing costs, less accumulated amortization of $169 and $153 as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively	49		66
Deferred lease costs, less accumulated amortization of $29,353 and $26,055 as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively	24,067		27,480
Restricted cash and escrows	11,447		11,661
Total other assets held for sale	$	47,353	$	49,944
Notes payable and other liabilities held for sale:
Notes payable, secured by 35 W. Wacker Building, at fixed-rate of 5.10%, maturing January 1, 2014	$	120,000	$	120,000
Intangible lease liabilities, less accumulated amortization of $25,960 and $23,458 as of September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, respectively	4,451		6,954
Total notes payable and other liabilities held for sale	$	124,451	$	126,954
Noncontrolling interest held for sale	$	2,797	$	4,623

The details comprising income/(loss) from discontinued operations, including results from the 35 W. Wacker Building, the Eastpointe Corporate Center Building, the 5000 Corporate Court Building, and the 111 Sylvan Avenue Building, are presented below (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2011			2010			2011			2010
Revenues:
Rental income	$	7,477		$	10,273		$	24,631		$	30,455
Tenant reimbursements	3,565			2,708			14,303			14,046
	11,042			12,981			38,934			44,501
Expenses:
Property operating costs	3,403			2,395			15,712			14,637
Depreciation	1,516			1,694			4,912			5,541
Amortization of deferred leasing costs	1,676			1,716			5,093			5,193
General and administrative expenses	45			171			80			195
	6,640			5,976			25,797			25,566
Other income (expense):
Interest expense	(1,568		)	(1,583		)	(4,653		)	(4,697		)
Interest and other income	16			—			1			2
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	(131		)	(154		)	(366		)	(397		)
	(1,683		)	(1,737		)	(5,018		)	(5,092		)
Operating income, excluding impairment loss and gain on sale	$	2,719		$	5,268		$	8,119		$	13,843
Impairment loss	—			—			—			(9,587		)
Gain on sale of real estate assets	26,756			—			26,756			—
Income from discontinued operations	$	29,475		$	5,268		$	34,875		$	4,256