COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

19. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Legal Proceedings

The Company is involved from time to time in litigation on various matters, including disputes with tenants, disputes with vendors, employee disputes and disputes arising out of agreements to purchase or sell properties or joint ventures or disputes relating to state and local taxes. 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 it determines 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 for a mortgage lender on December 31, 2019. 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.

Fair Value of Contingent Consideration

On April 2, 2015, the Company purchased 618 Market Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The allocated purchase price included contingent consideration of $2.0 million payable to the seller upon commencement of development. The liability was recorded at a fair value of $1.6 million and will accrete through interest expense to $2.0 million over the expected period until development is commenced. The fair value of this contingent consideration was determined using a probability weighted discounted cash flow model. The significant inputs to the discounted cash flow model were the discount rate and weighted probability scenarios. As the inputs are unobservable, the Company determined the inputs used to value this liability fall within Level 3 for fair value reporting. As of December 31, 2019, the liability had accreted to $1.97 million. As there were no significant changes to the inputs, the liability remains within Level 3 for fair value reporting.

Debt Guarantees

As of December 31, 2019, the Company’s Real Estate Ventures had aggregate indebtedness of $596.0 million. These loans are generally mortgage or construction loans, most of which are non-recourse to the Company, except for customary carve-outs. As of December 31, 2019, the $150.0 million construction loan obtained by the 4040 Wilson, for which the Company has guaranteed payment up to $41.3 million, is recourse to the Company. In addition, during construction undertaken by real estate ventures, including 4040 Wilson, the Company has provided and expects to continue to provide cost overrun and completion guarantees, with rights of contribution among partners or members in the real estate ventures, as well as customary environmental indemnities and guarantees of customary exceptions to nonrecourse provisions in loan agreements.  

Other Commitments or Contingencies

In connection with the Schuylkill Yards Project, the Company entered into a neighborhood engagement program and, as of December 31, 2019, had $8.5 million of future contractual obligations. The Company is also committed to make additional contributions under the program. As of December 31, 2019, the Company estimates that these additional contributions, which are not fixed under the terms of agreement, will be $2.8 million.

The Company is under contract to acquire an office property containing approximately 170,000 rentable square feet located in Radnor, Pennsylvania for a purchase price of $20.3 million. The Company has paid $1 million towards the purchase price in the form of a non-refundable deposit and the transaction is expected to close during 2020. The Company was also under contract to acquire a 7.8-acre land parcel located in Radnor, Pennsylvania for a purchase price of $11.3 million. The acquisition of the land parcel closed on February 27, 2020.

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, on or about August 2020. If the Company takes fee title to Two Logan Square upon 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 has been accreting the liability up to $2.9 million through January 2020. As of December 31, 2019, the Company had a balance of $2.9 million for this liability in its consolidated balance sheets.

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, 2019: One Logan Square, Two Logan Square and Radnor Corporate Center (January 2020). The Company subsequently agreed to extend the no-sale period applicable to Two Logan Square to on or about August 2020. If the Company were to sell a restricted property before the 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.

The Company invests in its properties and regularly incurs capital expenditures in the ordinary course of business 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.