7. Acquisitions, Dispositions, Impairment, and Discontinued Operations

Acquisitions of Land. During the year ended December 31, 2016, we acquired an aggregate of approximately 4.6 acres of land located in Denver, Colorado and Charlotte, North Carolina for approximately $19.9 million. The acquisition of 2.4 acres in Denver, Colorado in September 2016 was funded with cash on hand and from the use of $13.0 million which we had placed with a qualified intermediary in connection with a like-kind exchange related to the sale of one of the Las Vegas properties discussed below. All of the land parcels acquired in 2016 are currently in development as of December 31, 2016. During the year ended December 31, 2015, we acquired approximately 58.1 acres of land located in Phoenix, Arizona, Los Angeles, California, and Gaithersburg, Maryland for approximately $59.1 million.

Acquisition of Non-controlling Ownership Interest. We did not acquire any additional non-controlling ownership interest in 2016. In March 2015, we purchased the remaining 0.01% non-controlling interest in two fully consolidated joint ventures, which own an aggregate of 798 apartment homes located in College Park, Maryland and Irvine, California, for approximately $9.5 million. The acquisitions of the remaining ownership interests were recorded as equity transactions and, as a result, the carrying balances of the non-controlling interest were eliminated and the remaining difference between the purchase price and carrying balance was recorded as a reduction in additional paid-in capital. See Note 14, "Non-controlling Interests," for the effect of changes in ownership interests of these former joint ventures on the equity attributable to common shareholders.

Land Holding Dispositions and Impairment. During the year ended December 31, 2016, we sold approximately 6.3 acres of land adjacent to an operating property in Tampa, Florida for approximately $2.2 million and recognized a gain of approximately $0.4 million. During the year ended December 31, 2015, we sold two land holdings adjacent to operating properties in Dallas and Houston, Texas for approximately $1.1 million and recognized a gain of approximately $0.3 million. In 2014, we sold approximately 2.4 acres of land adjacent to an operating property in Dallas, Texas for approximately $0.8 million. We recognized a $1.2 million impairment charge related to this land parcel, which represented the difference between the land holding’s carrying value and the sales price. During the year ended December 31, 2014, we also sold approximately 26.9 acres of land adjacent to current development and operating communities located in Atlanta, Georgia and Houston and Dallas, Texas for approximately $22.9 million and recognized a gain of approximately $3.6 million related to these land sales.

Sale of Operating Properties. During the year ended December 31, 2016, we sold one dual-phased property and six other operating properties comprised of an aggregate of 3,184 apartment homes with an average age of 24 years, located in Landover and Frederick, Maryland; Fullerton, California; and Tampa, Altamonte Springs, and St. Petersburg, Florida for an aggregate of approximately $523.4 million, and recognized a gain of approximately $294.9 million.

In 2015, we sold three operating properties, comprised of an aggregate of 1,376 apartment homes located in Brandon and Tampa, Florida and Austin, Texas for an aggregate of approximately $147.4 million and we recognized a gain of approximately $104.0 million relating to these property sales. During the year ended December 31, 2014, we sold five operating properties comprised of 1,847 apartment homes located in Atlanta, Georgia, Dallas, Texas, Orlando and Tampa, Florida and Charlotte, North Carolina for approximately $218.3 million and we recognized a gain of approximately $155.7 million relating to these property sales.

Discontinued Operations and Assets Held for Sale. In April 2016, we sold 15 operating properties, comprised of an aggregate of 4,918 apartment homes, with an average age of 23 years, a retail center and approximately 19.6 acres of land, all located in Las Vegas, Nevada, to an unaffiliated third party for an aggregate of approximately $630.0 million and recognized a gain of approximately $375.2 million, net of closing costs. We placed $13.0 million of the proceeds from this disposition with a qualified intermediary for use in a like-kind exchange and, in September 2016, the exchange was successfully completed with the Denver, Colorado land purchase described above. There were no additional discontinued operations during the years ended December 31, 2015 or 2014.

The operating properties, retail center, and land discussed above were classified as held for sale in the condensed consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2015, and were made up of the following:



(in thousands)	December 31, 2015
Land	$	59,438
Buildings and improvements	373,419
	$	432,857
Accumulated depreciation	(197,996		)
Net operating real estate assets	$	234,861
Properties under development, including land	4,202
Discontinued operations held for sale, including land	$	239,063
Other assets related to properties held for sale	1,191
Total assets held for sale	$	240,254

Liabilities related to assets held for sale	$	1,654

The following is a summary of income from discontinued operations for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 relating to the 15 operating properties and the retail center sold in April 2016:



	Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands)	2016			2015			2014
Property revenues	$	19,184		$	57,310		$	53,715
Property expenses	(6,898		)	(20,716		)	(19,608		)
	$	12,286		$	36,594		$	34,107
Property management expense	(242		)	(706		)	(619		)
Depreciation and amortization	(4,327		)	(16,138		)	(15,291		)
Income tax expense	(112)			—			—
Income from discontinued operations	$	7,605		$	19,750		$	18,197
Gain on sale of discontinued operations, net of tax	$	375,237		$	—		$	—