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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Legal Proceedings
The Company is involved from time to time in litigation on various matters, including disputes with tenants and disputes arising out of agreements to purchase or sell properties. Given the nature of the Company’s business activities, these lawsuits are considered routine to the conduct of its business. The result of any particular lawsuit cannot be predicted, because of the very nature of litigation, the litigation process and its adversarial nature, and the jury system. The Company will establish reserves for specific legal proceedings when we determine that the likelihood of an unfavorable outcome is probable and when the amount of loss is reasonably estimable. The Company does not expect that the liabilities, if any, that may ultimately result from such legal actions will have a material adverse effect on the consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows of the Company.
Letters-of-Credit
Under certain mortgages, the Company has funded required leasing and capital reserve accounts for the benefit of the mortgage lenders with letters-of-credit. There were no associated letters-of-credit at December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013. Certain of the tenant rents at properties that secure these mortgage loans are deposited into the loan servicer’s depository accounts, which are used to fund debt service, operating expenses, capital expenditures and the escrow and reserve accounts, as necessary. Any excess cash is included in cash and cash equivalents.
Environmental
As an owner of real estate, the Company is subject to various environmental laws of federal, state, and local governments. The Company’s compliance with existing laws has not had a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations, and the Company does not believe it will have a material adverse effect in the future. However, the Company cannot predict the impact of unforeseen environmental contingencies or new or changed laws or regulations on its current Properties or on properties that the Company may acquire.
Ground Rent
Future minimum rental payments under the terms of all non-cancellable ground leases under which the Company is the lessee are expensed on a straight-line basis regardless of when payments are due. The Company’s ground leases have remaining lease terms ranging from 7 to 75 years. Minimum future rental payments on non-cancelable leases at December 31, 2014 are as follows (in thousands):
Year
 
Minimum Rent
2015
 
$
1,378

2016
 
1,378

2017
 
1,378

2018
 
1,378

2019
 
1,378

Thereafter
 
57,114

Total
 
$
64,004


The Company obtained ground tenancy rights related to two properties in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which provide for contingent rent participation by the lessor in certain capital transactions and net operating cash flows of the properties after certain returns are achieved by the Company. Such amounts, if any, will be reflected as contingent rent when incurred. The leases also provide for payment by the Company of certain operating costs relating to the land, primarily real estate taxes. The above schedule of future minimum rental payments does not include any contingent rent amounts or any reimbursed expenses.
Other Commitments or Contingencies
As part of the Company’s September 2004 acquisition of a portfolio of properties from The Rubenstein Company (which the Company refers to as the "TRC acquisition"), the Company acquired its interest in Two Logan Square, a 708,844 square foot office building in Philadelphia, primarily through its ownership of a second and third mortgage secured by this property. This property is consolidated, as the borrower is a variable interest entity and the Company, through its ownership of the second and third mortgages, is the primary beneficiary. The Company currently does not expect to take title to Two Logan Square until, at the earliest, September 2019. If the Company takes fee title to Two Logan Square upon a foreclosure of its mortgage, the Company has agreed to pay an unaffiliated third party that holds a residual interest in the fee owner of this property an amount equal to $2.9 million. On the TRC acquisition date, the Company recorded a liability of $0.7 million and this amount will accrete up to $2.9 million through September 2019. As of December 31, 2014, the Company had a balance of $1.8 million for this liability in its consolidated balance sheet.
The Company was audited by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) for its 2004 tax year. The audit concerned the tax treatment of the TRC acquisition in September 2004 in which the Company acquired a portfolio of properties through the acquisition of a limited partnership. On December 17, 2010, the Company received notice that the IRS proposed an adjustment to the allocation of recourse liabilities allocated to the contributor of the properties. The Company appealed the proposed adjustment and during the second quarter of 2013 entered into a settlement agreement with the IRS which will not result in a material liability for the Company for federal income taxes. The contributor of partnership interests in the 2004 transaction has agreed not to assert a claim against the Company under the tax protection agreement entered into as part of the transaction.
As part of the Company’s 2006 merger with Prentiss Properties Trust ("Prentiss"), the 2004 TRC acquisition and several of our other transactions, the Company agreed not to sell certain of the properties it acquired in transactions that would trigger taxable income to the former owners. In the case of the TRC acquisition, the Company agreed not to sell acquired properties in non-exempt transactions for periods up to 15 years from the date of the TRC acquisition as follows at December 31, 2014: One Rodney Square and 130/150/170 Radnor Financial Center (January, 2015); and One Logan Square, Two Logan Square and Radnor Corporate Center (January, 2020). In the Prentiss acquisition, the Company assumed the obligation of Prentiss not to sell Concord Airport Plaza before March, 2018. The Company’s agreements generally provide that it may dispose of the subject properties only in transactions that qualify as tax-free exchanges under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code or in other tax deferred transactions. If the Company were to sell a restricted property before expiration of the restricted period in a non-exempt transaction, the Company may be required to make significant payments to the parties who sold the applicable property on account of tax liabilities attributed to them. Similarly, as part of the 2013 acquisition of substantially all of the equity interests in the partnerships that own One and Two Commerce Square, the Company agreed, for the benefit of affiliates of the holder of the 1% residual ownership interest in these properties, to not sell these two properties in certain taxable transactions prior to October 20, 2021 without the holder’s consent.
As part of the Company’s acquisition of properties from time to time in tax-deferred transactions, the Company has agreed to provide certain of the prior owners of the acquired properties with the right to guarantee the Company’s indebtedness. If the Company were to seek to repay the indebtedness guaranteed by the prior owner before the expiration of the applicable agreement, the Company would be required to provide the prior owner an opportunity to guaranty qualifying replacement debt. These debt maintenance agreements may limit the Company’s ability to refinance indebtedness on terms favorable to the Company. As part of our 2013 acquisition of substantially all of the equity interests in the partnerships that own One and Two Commerce Square, the Company agreed, for the benefit of affiliates of the holder of the 1% residual ownership interest in these properties, to maintain qualifying mortgage debt through October 20, 2021, in the amounts of not less than $125.0 million on One Commerce Square and $100.0 million on Two Commerce Square. Similarly, the Company has agreements in place with other contributors of assets that obligate it to maintain debt available for them to guaranty.
In connection with the development of the IRS Philadelphia Campus and the Cira South Garage, during 2008, the Company entered into a historic tax credit and new markets tax credit arrangement, respectively. The Company is required to be in compliance with various laws, regulations and contractual provisions that apply to its historic and new market tax credit arrangements. Non-compliance with applicable requirements could result in projected tax benefits not being realized and therefore, require a refund to US Bancorp or a reduction of investor capital contributions, which are reported as deferred income in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet, until such time as its obligation to deliver tax benefits is relieved. The remaining compliance periods for its tax credit arrangements runs through 2015. The Company does not anticipate that any material refunds or reductions of investor capital contributions will be required in connection with these arrangements.
The Company invests in its properties and regularly incurs capital expenditures in the ordinary course to maintain the properties. The Company believes that such expenditures enhance its competitiveness. The Company also enters into construction, utility and service contracts in the ordinary course of business which may extend beyond one year. These contracts typically provide for cancellation with insignificant or no cancellation penalties.