Derivatives and Hedging Activities

Risk Management Objective of Using Derivatives

The Company may use derivative financial instruments, including interest rate swaps, caps, options, floors and other interest rate derivative contracts, to hedge all or a portion of the interest rate risk associated with its borrowings. The principal objective of such arrangements is to minimize the risks and/or costs associated with the Company’s operating and financial structure as well as to hedge specific anticipated transactions. The Company does not intend to utilize derivatives for purposes other than interest rate risk management. The use of derivative financial instruments carries certain risks, including the risk that the counterparties to these contractual arrangements are not able to perform under the agreements. To mitigate this risk, the Company only enters into derivative financial instruments with counterparties with high credit ratings and with major financial institutions with which the Company and its affiliates may also have other financial relationships. The Company does not anticipate that any of the counterparties will fail to meet their obligations.

Cash Flow Hedges of Interest Rate Risk

The Company’s objectives in using interest rate derivatives are to add stability to interest expense and to manage its exposure to interest rate movements. To accomplish these objectives, the Company primarily uses interest rate swaps as part of its interest rate risk management strategy. Interest rate swaps involve the receipt of variable-rate amounts from a counterparty in exchange for the Company making fixed-rate payments over the life of the agreements without exchange of the underlying notional amount.

The effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives designated that qualify as cash flow hedges is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income and is subsequently reclassified into earnings in the period that the hedged forecasted transaction affects earnings. During the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, such derivatives were used to hedge the variable cash flows associated with variable-rate debt. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company reclassified previously unrealized losses of $0.2 million from accumulated other comprehensive income into interest expense as a result of the hedged forecasted transactions affecting earnings. The Company also reclassified unrealized losses of $0.8 million from accumulated other comprehensive income into interest expense associated with settled interest rate derivatives.

The ineffective portion of the change in fair value of the derivatives designated that qualify as cash flow hedges is recognized directly in earnings. During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recorded a gain of $1.6 million in earnings related to the ineffective portion of the change in fair value of derivatives designated that qualify as cash flow hedges. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company recorded a gain of $2.5 million in such earnings. Earnings related to the ineffective portion of the change in fair value of derivatives designated that qualify as cash flow hedges are included in gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. The ineffectiveness is primarily attributable to the designation of acquired interest rate swaps with a non-zero fair value at inception associated with a prior merger.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company terminated six of its interest rate swaps in connection with the early repayment of mortgage loans and borrowings under the Credit Facility Term Loan, as discussed in Note 10 – Debt, and accelerated the reclassification of a portion of the amounts in other comprehensive income to earnings as a result of a portion of the hedged forecasted transactions becoming probable not to occur. A gain of $1.1 million was recorded in relation to the acceleration, which is included in gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Amounts reported in accumulated other comprehensive income related to derivatives will be reclassified to interest expense as interest payments are made on the Company’s variable-rate debt. During the next twelve months, the Company estimates that an additional $0.3 million will be reclassified from other comprehensive income as an increase to interest expense.

During the year ended December 31, 2017, loans associated with thirteen derivative instruments with an aggregate notional value of $662.4 million at the respective settlement date, were repaid in full and one derivative previously designated as a cash flow hedge with a notional value of $27.8 million was de-designated as it was not probable the forecasted hedged transaction would occur. As of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company had the following outstanding interest rate derivatives that were designated as cash flow hedges of interest rate risk (dollar amounts in thousands):



Interest Rate Swaps	December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Number of Instruments	—		14
Notional Amount	$	—	$	690,816

The table below presents the fair value of the Company’s derivative financial instruments designated as cash flow hedges as well as their classification in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 (in thousands):



Derivatives Designated as Hedging Instruments	Balance Sheet Location	December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Interest rate swaps	Rent and tenant receivables and other assets, net	$	—	$	3
Interest rate swaps	Deferred rent, derivative and other liabilities	$	—	$	(3,547	)

Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments

Derivatives not designated as hedges are not speculative and are used to manage the Company’s exposure to interest rate movements and other identified risks but do not meet the requirements to be classified as hedging instruments. A gain of $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2017 related to the change in the fair value of derivatives not designated as hedging instruments was recorded in gain (loss) on derivative instruments, net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. The Company recorded a loss of $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2016.

As discussed above, during the year ended December 31, 2017, one derivative previously designated as a cash flow hedge with a notional value of $27.8 million was de-designated as it was not probable the forecasted hedged transaction would occur. As of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company had the following outstanding interest rate derivatives that were not designated as qualifying hedging relationships (dollar amounts in thousands):



Interest Rate Swap	December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Number of Instruments	2		1
Notional Amount	$	78,949	$	51,400

The table below presents the fair value of the Company’s derivative financial instruments not designated as a hedge as well as their classification in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 (in thousands):



Derivatives Not Designated as Hedging Instruments	Balance Sheet Location	December 31, 2017		December 31, 2016
Interest rate swaps	Rent and tenant receivables and other assets, net	$	627	$	196

Tabular Disclosure of Offsetting Derivatives

The table below details a gross presentation, the effects of offsetting and a net presentation of the Company’s derivatives as of December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016 (in thousands). The net amounts of derivative assets or liabilities can be reconciled to the tabular disclosure of fair value.



	Offsetting of Derivative Assets and Liabilities
	Gross Amounts of Recognized Assets		Gross Amounts of Recognized Liabilities			Gross Amounts Offset in the Consolidated Balance Sheets		Net Amounts of Assets Presented in the Consolidated Balance Sheets		Net Amounts of Liabilities Presented in the Consolidated Balance Sheets			Financial Instruments		Cash Collateral Received		Net Amount
December 31, 2017	$	627	$	—		$	—	$	627	$	—		$	—	$	—	$	627
December 31, 2016	$	199	$	(3,547	)	$	—	$	199	$	(3,547	)	$	—	$	—	$	(3,348	)

Credit Risk Related Contingent Features

The Company has agreements with each of its derivative counterparties that contain a provision specifying that if the Company either defaults or is capable of being declared in default on any of its indebtedness, the Company could also be declared in default on its derivative obligations.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company has not posted any collateral related to these agreements and was not in breach of any provisions in these agreements. If the Company had breached any of these provisions, it could have been required to settle its obligations under the agreements at their aggregate termination value of $0.6 million at December 31, 2017.