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Investment in Unconsolidated Ventures
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures [Abstract]  
Equity Method Investments and Joint Ventures Disclosure [Text Block]
INVESTMENT IN UNCONSOLIDATED VENTURES
As of March 31, 2013, the Company had an aggregate investment of approximately $184.8 million in 19 unconsolidated Real Estate Ventures. The Company formed or acquired interests in these ventures with unaffiliated third parties to develop or manage office properties or to acquire land in anticipation of possible development of office or residential properties. As of March 31, 2013, 14 of the Real Estate Ventures owned 52 office buildings that contain an aggregate of approximately 6.4 million net rentable square feet; three Real Estate Ventures owned 24 acres of undeveloped parcels of land; one Real Estate Venture owned a one-acre parcel of land under active development and one Real Estate Venture developed a hotel property that contains 137 rooms in Conshohocken, PA.
The Company accounts for its unconsolidated interests in its Real Estate Ventures using the equity method. The Company’s unconsolidated interests range from 20% to 65%, subject to specified priority allocations of distributable cash in certain of the Real Estate Ventures.
The amounts reflected in the following tables (except for the Company’s share of equity and income) are based on the historical financial information of the individual Real Estate Ventures. The Company does not record operating losses of the Real Estate Ventures in excess of its investment balance unless the Company is liable for the obligations of the Real Estate Venture or is otherwise committed to provide financial support to the Real Estate Venture.
The following is a summary of the financial position of the Real Estate Ventures as of March 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012 (in thousands):
 
March 31,
2013
 
December 31,
2012
Net property
$
823,199

 
$
923,536

Other assets
168,077

 
174,677

Other liabilities
31,209

 
53,645

Debt
726,507

 
724,780

Equity
233,560

 
319,788

Company’s share of equity (Company’s basis) (a)
184,802

 
193,555


(a) Amounts reflect the effects of basis differences resulting from assets contributed to joint ventures, as well as certain costs at the venture level. Basis differences occur from the impairment of investments and upon the transfer of assets that were previously owned by the Company into a joint venture. In addition, certain acquisition, transaction and other costs may not be reflected in the net assets at the joint venture level.
The following is a summary of results of operations of the Real Estate Ventures for the three-month periods ended March 31, 2013 and 2012 (in thousands):
 
Three-month periods
ended March 31,
 
2013
 
2012
Revenue
$
40,889

 
$
38,593

Operating expenses
18,266

 
16,815

Interest expense, net
9,772

 
11,249

Depreciation and amortization
12,906

 
11,471

Net loss
(55
)
 
(942
)
Company’s share of income (Company’s basis)
1,535

 
44


Grove Venture
On January 25, 2013, the Company formed the Grove Venture, a joint venture among the Company and two unaffiliated parties: Campus Crest Properties, LLC ("Campus Crest") and HSRE-Campus Crest IXA, LLC ("HSRE"). The Grove Venture has commenced construction of a 33-story, 850-bed student housing tower located in the University City submarket of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to be called The Grove at Cira Centre South (the "Grove"). Each of the Company and Campus Crest owns a 30% interest in the Grove Venture and HSRE owns a 40% interest. The Grove Venture is developing the project on a one-acre land parcel held under a long-term ground lease which, together with development rights, was contributed to the Grove Venture by the Company at an agreed-upon value of $8.5 million. The total estimated project costs are $158.5 million, which will be financed through partner capital contributions totaling $60.7 million, with the remaining $97.8 million being financed through a construction facility by PNC Bank, Capital One, and First Niagara Bank. Construction has already commenced, with a targeted project completion in 2014.
The Company's historical cost basis in the development rights that it contributed to the Grove Venture at formation was $6.0 million, thus creating an initial $2.5 million basis difference between the Company's initial outside investment basis compared to its $8.5 million initial equity basis in the Grove Venture. As this basis difference is not related to a physical land parcel, but rather to development rights to construct The Grove, the Company will accrete the basis difference as a reduction of depreciation expense over the life of the Grove Venture's assets.
Based upon the facts and circumstances at Grove Venture formation, the Company determined that the Grove Venture is a VIE in accordance with the accounting standard for the consolidation of VIEs. As a result, the Company used the variable interest model under the accounting standard for consolidation in order to determine whether to consolidate the Grove Venture. Based upon each member's shared power over the activities of the Grove Venture under the operating agreement of the Grove Venture, and the Company's lack of exclusive control over the development and construction phases of the project, the Grove Venture is not consolidated by the Company, and is accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Accordingly, the land parcel and associated development rights contributed by the Company to the Grove Venture were deconsolidated by the Company upon formation of the Grove Venture.
The Company, from time to time, also provides guarantees and indemnities, including environmental indemnities, in connection with construction and permanent financing both for its own account and on behalf of its Real Estate Ventures. As of March 31, 2013, the Company had guaranteed repayment of approximately $0.6 million of loans on behalf of a Real Estate Venture. In addition, in connection with the Company's development of the Grove project through the Grove Venture, each of the Company and Campus Crest has provided, in addition to customary non-recourse carve-out guarantees, a completion and cost overrun guaranty, as well as a payment guaranty, on the construction financing (with the Company's share of the payment guaranty being approximately $23.0 million).
On March 26, 2013, the Company sold its entire 20% ownership interest in an unconsolidated real estate venture known as BDN Beacon Venture LLC (the "Beacon Venture"). The carrying amount of the Company's investment in the Beacon Venture amounted to $17.0 million at the sale date, with the Company's proceeds effectively matching the carrying amount.