Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2022

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]


9. Commitments and Contingencies

In the normal course of business, from time to time, the Company is involved in legal proceedings relating to the ownership and operations of its properties. In management’s opinion, the liabilities, if any, that may ultimately result from normal course of business legal actions, including The Woodlands legal proceeding discussed below, are not expected to have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations or liquidity.

Litigation On June 14, 2018, the Company was served with a petition involving approximately 500 individuals or entities who claim that their properties, located in the Timarron Park neighborhood of The Woodlands, were damaged by flood waters that resulted from the unprecedented rainfall that occurred throughout Harris County and surrounding areas during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017. The complaint was filed in State Court in Harris County of the State of Texas. In general, the plaintiffs allege negligence in the development of Timarron Park and violations of Texas’ Deceptive Trade Practices Act and name as defendants The Howard Hughes Corporation, The Woodlands Land Development Company and two unaffiliated parties involved in the planning and engineering of Timarron Park. The plaintiffs are seeking restitution for damages to their property and diminution of their property values. The Company intends to vigorously defend the matter as it believes that these claims are without merit and that it has substantial legal and factual defenses to the claims and allegations contained in the complaint. Based upon the present status of this matter, the Company does not believe it is probable that a loss will be incurred. Accordingly, the Company has not recorded a charge as a result of this action.

The Company entered into a settlement agreement with the Waiea homeowners association related to certain construction defects at the condominium tower. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the Company will pay for the repair of the defects. The Company believes that the general contractor is ultimately responsible for the defects and expects to recover all the repair costs from the general contractor, other responsible parties and insurance proceeds; however, the Company can provide no assurances that all or any portion of the costs will be recovered. The Company recorded total expenses of $99.2 million for the estimated repair costs related to this matter during 2020, with an additional $21.0 million charged during 2021. These amounts were included in Condominium rights and unit cost of sales in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of March 31, 2022, a total of $82.1 million remains in Construction payables for the estimated repair costs related to this matter, which is included in Accounts payable and accrued expenses in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Environmental Matters The Company purchased its 250 Water Street property in the Seaport in June 2018. The site is currently used as a parking lot while the Company continues to move forward with redevelopment planning. The Company engaged a third-party specialist to perform a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), and the ESA identified, among other findings, the existence of mercury in the soil at levels above New York State regulatory criteria. The site is in the State Brownfield Cleanup Program and will be remediated under this program. The normal operations of the parking lot do not require the property to be remediated, and the Company had not started any redevelopment activities as of March 31, 2022. As a result, the potential remediation had no financial impact for the three months ended March 31, 2022.

Letters of Credit and Surety Bonds As of March 31, 2022, the Company had outstanding letters of credit totaling $5.1 million and surety bonds totaling $321.7 million. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had outstanding letters of credit totaling $5.1 million and surety bonds totaling $331.0 million. These letters of credit and surety bonds were issued primarily in connection with insurance requirements, special real estate assessments and construction obligations.

Operating Leases The Company leases land or buildings at certain properties from third parties, which are recorded in Operating lease right-of-use assets, net and Operating lease obligations on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. See Note 15 - Leases for further discussion. Contractual rental expense, including participation rent, was $1.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to $1.7 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The amortization of above and below‑market ground leases and straight‑line rents included in the contractual rent amount was not significant.

Guarantee Agreements In conjunction with the execution of the ground lease for the Seaport, the Company executed a completion guarantee for the redevelopment of the Tin Building. The completion guaranty for the Tin Building is for the core and shell construction, which is now complete. The Company is working with the New York City Economic Development Corporation to relinquish the guarantee.

The Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries agreed to complete defined public improvements and to indemnify Howard County, Maryland, for certain matters as part of the Downtown Columbia Redevelopment District TIF bonds. To the extent that increases in taxes do not cover debt service payments on the TIF bonds, the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary is obligated to pay special taxes. Management has concluded that as of March 31, 2022, any obligations to pay special taxes are not probable.

As part of the Company’s development permits with the Hawai’i Community Development Authority for the condominium towers at Ward Village, the Company entered into a guarantee whereby it is required to reserve 20% of the residential units for local residents who meet certain maximum income and net worth requirements. This guarantee, which is triggered once the necessary permits are granted and construction commences, was satisfied for Waiea, Anaha and Ae‘o, with the opening of Ke Kilohana, which is a workforce tower fully earmarked to fulfill this obligation for the first four towers. The reserved units for ‘A‘ali‘i are included in the ‘A‘ali‘i tower. The reserved units for Kō'ula and Victoria Place, the two towers under construction, will be satisfied with the construction of Ulana Ward Village, which is a second workforce tower fully earmarked to satisfy the remaining reserved housing guarantee in the community. As a result of this guarantee, the Company expects reserved housing towers to be delivered on a break-even basis.

The Company evaluates the likelihood of future performance under these guarantees and did not record an obligation as of March 31, 2022, and December 31, 2021.