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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Business and Organization
American Assets Trust, Inc. (which may be referred to in these financial statements as the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a Maryland corporation formed on July 16, 2010 that did not have any operating activity until the consummation of our initial public offering on January 19, 2011. The Company is the sole general partner of American Assets Trust, L.P., a Maryland limited partnership formed on July 16, 2010 (the “Operating Partnership”). The Company’s operations are carried on through our Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries, including our taxable real estate investment trust ("REIT") subsidiary ("TRS"). Since the formation of our Operating Partnership, the Company has controlled our Operating Partnership as its general partner and has consolidated its assets, liabilities and results of operations.
We are a full service, vertically integrated, and self-administered REIT with approximately 203 employees providing substantial in-house expertise in asset management, property management, property development, leasing, tenant improvement construction, acquisitions, repositioning, redevelopment and financing.
As of September 30, 2021, we owned or had a controlling interest in 30 office, retail, multifamily and mixed-use operating properties, the operations of which we consolidate. Additionally, as of September 30, 2021, we owned land at three of our properties that we classify as held for development and/or construction in progress. A summary of the properties owned by us is as follows:
Retail
Carmel Country PlazaGateway MarketplaceAlamo Quarry Market
Carmel Mountain PlazaDel Monte CenterHassalo on Eighth - Retail
South Bay MarketplaceGeary Marketplace
Lomas Santa Fe PlazaThe Shops at Kalakaua
Solana Beach Towne CentreWaikele Center
Office
La Jolla CommonsOne Beach StreetCorporate Campus East III
Torrey Reserve CampusFirst & Main
Torrey PointLloyd Portfolio
Solana CrossingCity Center Bellevue
The Landmark at One MarketEastgate Office Park
Multifamily
Loma PalisadesHassalo on Eighth - Residential
Imperial Beach Gardens
Mariner's Point
Santa Fe Park RV Resort
Pacific Ridge Apartments
Mixed-Use
Waikiki Beach Walk Retail and Embassy Suites™ Hotel
Held for Development and/or Construction in Progress
La Jolla Commons – Land
Solana Crossing – Land
Lloyd Portfolio – Construction in Progress
Basis of Presentation
Our consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company, our Operating Partnership and our subsidiaries. The equity interests of other investors in our Operating Partnership are reflected as noncontrolling interests.
The Company follows the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the "FASB") guidance for determining whether an entity is a variable interest entity (“VIE”) and requires the performance of a qualitative rather than a quantitative analysis to determine the primary beneficiary of a VIE. Under this guidance, an entity would be required to consolidate a VIE if it has (i) the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses of the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could be significant to the VIE. American Assets Trust, Inc. has concluded that the Operating Partnership is a VIE, and because American Assets Trust, Inc. has both the power and the rights to control the Operating Partnership, American Assets Trust, Inc. is the primary beneficiary and is required to continue to consolidate the Operating Partnership. Substantially all of the assets and liabilities of the Company are related to the operating partnership VIE.
All intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated in consolidation.
The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company and the Operating Partnership have been prepared in accordance with the rules applicable to Form 10-Q and include all information and footnotes required for interim financial statement presentation, but do not include all disclosures required under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for annual financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments, except as otherwise noted) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes therein included in the Company's and Operating Partnership's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that in certain circumstances affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities, and revenues and expenses. These estimates are prepared using our best judgment, after considering past, current and expected events and economic conditions. Actual results could differ from these estimates.
Any reference to the number of properties, number of units, square footage, employee numbers or percentages of beneficial ownership of our shares are unaudited and outside the scope of our independent registered public accounting firm’s review of our financial statements in accordance with the standards of the United States Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows—Supplemental Disclosures
The following table provides supplemental disclosures related to the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in thousands): 
 Nine Months Ended September 30,
 20212020
Supplemental cash flow information
Total interest costs incurred$45,618 $40,892 
Interest capitalized$2,029 $787 
Interest expense$43,589 $40,105 
Cash paid for interest, net of amounts capitalized$42,311 $41,547 
Cash paid for income taxes$289 $684 
Supplemental schedule of noncash investing and financing activities  
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities for construction in progress$10,119 $14,421 
Accrued leasing commissions$1,072 $989 
 Significant Accounting Policies

We describe our significant accounting policies in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements in Item 8 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020. There have been no changes to our significant accounting policies during the nine months ended September 30, 2021.

Segment Information
Segment information is prepared on the same basis that our chief operating decision maker reviews information for operational decision-making purposes. We operate in four business segments: the acquisition, redevelopment, ownership and management of retail real estate, office real estate, multifamily real estate and mixed-use real estate. The products for our retail segment primarily include rental of retail space and other tenant services, including tenant reimbursements, parking and storage space rental. The products for our office segment primarily include rental of office space and other tenant services, including tenant reimbursements, parking and storage space rental. The products for our multifamily segment include rental of apartments and other tenant services. The products of our mixed-use segment include rental of retail space and other tenant services, including tenant reimbursements, parking and storage space rental and operation of a 369-room all-suite hotel.
Revenue Recognition and Accounts Receivable
Our leases with tenants are classified as operating leases. Substantially all such leases contain fixed rent escalations which occur at specified times during the term of the lease. Base rents are recognized on a straight-line basis from when the tenant controls the space through the term of the related lease, net of valuation adjustments, based on management's assessment of credit, collection and other business risks.
We make estimates of the collectability of our current accounts receivable and straight-line rents receivable which require significant judgment by management. The collectability of receivables is affected by numerous different factors including current economic conditions, including the impact of tenant bankruptcies, the status of collectability of current cash rents receivable, tenants' recent and historical financial and operating results, changes in our tenants' credit ratings, communications between our operating personnel and tenants, the extent of security deposits and letters of credit held with respect to tenants, and the ability of the tenant to perform under the terms of their lease agreement. The provision for doubtful accounts at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020 was approximately $6.2 million and $10.0 million, respectively.
Rent Concessions – COVID-19
During the third quarter of 2021, we provided lease concessions to certain tenants, primarily within the retail segment, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the form of rent deferrals and abatements. These lease concessions generally included an increase in our rights as a lessor. We assess each lease concession and determine whether it represents a lease modifications under Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases ("ASC 842"). For the third quarter of 2021, we collected approximately $0.8 million or 96% of the deferred rent repayments due during the period.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
 
In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848), which provides companies with optional practical expedients to ease the accounting burden for contract modifications associated with transitioning away from LIBOR and other interbank offered rates that are expected to be discontinued as part of reference rate reform. For hedges, the guidance generally allows changes to the reference rate and other critical terms without having to de-designate the hedging relationship, as well as allows the shortcut method to continue to be applied. For contract modifications, changes in the reference rate or other critical terms will be treated as a continuation of the prior contract. This guidance can be applied immediately, however, is generally only available through December 31, 2022. We are still evaluating the impact of reference rate reform and whether we will apply any of these practical expedients.