Organization and Principles of Consolidation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2017

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Goodwill, Policy

Goodwill

Goodwill, which is included within Other assets in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets, represents the excess of the purchase price consideration for the Equity One merger over the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, and reflects expected synergies from combining Regency's and Equity One's operations. The Company accounts for goodwill in accordance with the Intangibles - Goodwill and Other Topic of the FASB ASC, and allocates its goodwill to the reporting units, which have been determined to be at the individual property level. The Company will perform an impairment evaluation of its goodwill at least annually, in November of each year. The goodwill impairment evaluation may be completed through a qualitative or quantitative approach.

Under a qualitative approach, the impairment review for goodwill consists of an assessment of whether it is more-likely-than-not that the property’s fair value is less than its carrying value. If a qualitative approach indicates it is more likely-than-not that the estimated carrying value of a property exceeds its fair value, or if the Company chooses to bypass the qualitative approach for any property, the Company will perform the quantitative approach described below.

The first step of the quantitative approach consists of estimating the fair value of each property using discounted projected future cash flows and comparing those estimated fair values with the carrying values, which include the allocated goodwill. If the estimated fair value is less than the carrying value, a second step is performed to compute the amount of the impairment, if any, by determining an implied fair value of goodwill. The determination of each property’s implied fair value of goodwill requires allocation of the estimated fair value of the property to its assets and liabilities. Any unallocated fair value represents the implied fair value of goodwill which is compared to its corresponding carrying value.

New Accounting Pronouncements and Changes in Accounting Principles

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The following table provides a brief description of recent accounting pronouncements and expected impact on our financial statements:

Standard	Description	Date of adoption	Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters
Recently adopted:
ASU 2016-09, March 2016, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718):Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting	This ASU affects entities that issue share-based payment awards to their employees. The ASU is designed to simplify several aspects of accounting for share-based payment award transactions including income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, an option to recognize stock compensation forfeitures as they occur, and changes to classification on the statement of cash flows.	January 2017	The adoption of this standard resulted in the reclassification of income taxes withheld on share-based awards out of operating activities into financing activities on the Statement of Cash Flows. As retrospective application was required for this component of the ASU, $8.0 million was reclassified on the Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2016.
ASU 2017-01 January 2017, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Clarifying the Definition of a Business	This ASU amends and provides a screen to determine when an integrated set of assets and activities, collectively referred to as a "set", is not a business. The screen requires that when substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired (or disposed of) is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets, the set is not a business. If the screen is not met, the amendments in this update (1) require that to be considered a business, a set must include, at a minimum, an input and a substantive process that together significantly contribute to the ability to create output and (2) remove the evaluation of whether a market participant could replace missing elements. The amendments provide a framework to assist entities in evaluating whether both an input and a substantive process are present. Early adoption is permitted.	July 2017	This standard changed the treatment of individual operating properties from being considered a business to being considered an asset. This change results in acquisition costs being capitalized as part of asset acquisitions, whereas previous treatment had them recognized in earnings in the period incurred. The Company adopted this standard effective July 1, 2017.
Not yet adopted:
ASU 2017-04, January 2017, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment	This ASU simplifies how an entity tests goodwill for impairment by eliminating Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. Step 2 measures a goodwill impairment loss by comparing the implied fair value of a reporting unit's goodwill with the carrying amount of that goodwill. Instead, under this update, the Company will perform its annual, or interim, goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with its carrying amount. The Company would then recognize an impairment charge for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the reporting unit's fair value, not to exceed the total amount of goodwill allocated to that reporting unit.	October 2017	The Company plans to early adopt this ASU on October 1, 2017. The adoption of this ASU will not have a material impact on the Company's financial statements and related disclosures.

Standard	Description	Date of adoption	Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters
ASU 2017-12, August 2017, Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities	This ASU provides updated guidance to better align a company’s financial reporting for hedging activities with the economic objectives of those activities. The transition guidance provides companies with the option of early adopting the new standard using a modified retrospective transition method in any interim period after issuance of the update, or alternatively requires adoption for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. This adoption method will require the Company to recognize the cumulative effect of initially applying the ASU as an adjustment to accumulated other comprehensive income with a corresponding adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings as of the beginning of the fiscal year that an entity adopts the update.	January 2018	The Company plans to early adopt this ASU on January 1, 2018. While the Company continues to assess all potential impacts of the standard, it currently does not expect the adoption and implementation of this standard to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.
ASU 2016-01, January 2016, Financial Instruments—Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities	This ASU amends the guidance to classify equity securities with readily-determinable fair values into different categories and requires equity securities to be measured at fair value with changes in the fair value recognized through net income. Equity investments accounted for under the equity method are not included in the scope of this amendment. Early adoption of this amendment is not permitted.	January 2018	The Company does not expect the adoption and implementation of this standard to have a material impact on its results of operations, financialcondition or cash flows.
ASU 2016-15, August 2016, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments	This ASU makes eight targeted changes to how cash receipts and cash payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. Early adoption is permitted on a retrospective basis.	January 2018	The ASU is consistent with the Company's current treatment and the Company does not expect the adoption and implementation of this standard to have an impact on its cash flow statement.
ASU 2016-18, November 2016, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash	This ASU requires entities to show the changes in the total of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. The amendments in this ASU should be applied using a retrospective transition method to each period presented.	January 2018	The Company expects the adoption of this ASU to result in a change to the classification and presentation of changes in restricted cash on its cash flow statement, which is not expected to be material. There should be no change to the Company's financial condition or results of operations.

Standard	Description	Date of adoption	Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters
Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) and related updates: ASU 2014-09, May 2014, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) ASU 2016-08, March 2016, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations ASU 2016-10, April 2016, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing ASU 2016-12, May 2016, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients ASU 2016-19, December 2016, Technical Corrections and Improvements ASU 2016-20, December 2016, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Topic 606 Revenue from Contracts With Customers ASU 2017-05, February 2017, Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20)	In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers ("Topic 606"). The objective of Topic 606 is to establish a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers. It will supersede most of the existing revenue guidance, including industry-specific guidance. The core principal of this new standard is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. In applying Topic 606, companies will perform a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized. Topic 606 applies to all contracts with customers except those that are within the scope of other topics in the FASB's accounting standards codification. As a result, Topic 606 does not apply to revenue from lease contracts until the adoption of the new leases standard, Topic 842, in January 2019. ASU 2017-05 clarifies that ASC 610-20 applies to all nonfinancial assets (including real estate) for which the counterparty is not a customer and requires an entity to derecognize a nonfinancial asset in a partial sale transaction when it ceases to have a controlling financial interest in the asset and has transferred control of the asset. Once an entity transfers control of the nonfinancial asset, the entity is required to measure any noncontrolling interest it receives or retains at fair value. Under the current guidance, a partial sale is recognized and carryover basis is used for the retained interest resulting in only partial gain recognition by the entity, however, the new guidance eliminates the use of carryover basis and generally requires the full gain be recognized. The standard allows for either "full retrospective" adoption, meaning the standard is applied to all of the periods presented, or "modified retrospective" adoption, meaning the standard is applied only to the most recent period presented in the financial statements.	January 2018	The majority of the Company's revenue originates from lease contracts and will be subject to Topic 842 to be adopted in January 2019. Upon the adoption of the new leases standard, certain recoveries from tenants may become subject to the revenue standard, which may have a different recognition pattern or presentation than under current GAAP. Beyond revenue from lease contracts, the Company's other main revenue streams, include:  - Management, transaction and other fees from the Company's real estate partnerships, primarily in the form of property management fees, asset management fees, and leasing commission fees. The Company evaluated all partnership fee relationships and does not currently expect any changes in the timing of revenue recognition from these revenue streams.  - Sales of real estate assets will be accounted for under Subtopic 610-20, which provides for revenue recognition based on transfer of control. For property sales where Regency has no continuing involvement, there should be no change to the Company's timing of recognition. For property sales in which Regency has continuing involvement, full gain recognition may be required, where gains may have been deferred under existing GAAP. Upon adoption of ASU 2017-05, some of the Company's $33 million of previously deferred gains from property sales to entities in which Regency had continuing involvement will remain deferred and be recognized in the future, while some will be recognized through opening retained earnings.  The Company is still analyzing the disclosure requirements and intends to follow the modified retrospective method of adoption, applying the standard to only 2018, and not restating prior periods presented in future financial statements.

Standard	Description	Date of adoption	Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters
ASU 2016-02, February 2016, Leases (Topic 842)	This ASU amends the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets. It also makes targeted changes to lessor accounting, including a change to the treatment of internal leasing costs and legal costs, which can no longer be capitalized. Early adoption of this standard is permitted to coincide with adoption of ASU 2014-09. The standard requires a modified retrospective transition approach for all leases existing at, or entered into after, the date of initial application, with an option to use certain transition relief.	January 2019	The Company is evaluating the impact this standard will have on its financial statements and related disclosures. Upon adoption, the Company will recognize right of use assets and corresponding lease obligations for its office and ground leases. Capitalization of internal leasing costs and legal costs will no longer be permitted upon the adoption of this standard, which will result in an increase in Total operating expenses in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in the period of adoption and prospectively. Historic capitalization of internal leasing costs was $7.5 million and $10.5 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and the year ended December 31, 2016, respectively. Historic capitalization of legal costs was $0.9 million and $0.7 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and the year ended December 31, 2016, respectively, including our pro rata share recognized through Equity in income of investments in real estate partnerships.
ASU 2016-13, June 2016, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments	This ASU replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. This ASU also applies to how the Company determines its allowance for doubtful accounts on tenant receivables.	January 2020	The Company is evaluating the alternative methods of adoption and the impact it will have on its financial statements and related disclosures.

Consolidation, Variable Interest Entity, Policy

Real Estate Partnerships

As of September 30, 2017, Regency has an ownership interest in 125 properties through partnerships, of which 11 are consolidated. Our partners in these ventures include institutional investors, other real estate developers and/or operators, and individual parties who help Regency source transactions for development and investment (the "Partners" or "limited partners"). Regency has a variable interest in these entities through its equity interests. As managing member, Regency maintains the books and records and typically provides leasing and property management to the partnerships. The partners’ level of involvement varies from protective decisions (debt, bankruptcy, selling primary asset(s) of business) to involvement in approving leases, operating budgets, and capital budgets.

• Those partnerships for which the Partners only have protective rights are considered VIEs under ASC 810, Consolidation. Regency is the primary beneficiary of these VIEs as Regency has power over these partnerships and they operate primarily for the benefit of Regency. As such, Regency consolidates these entities and reports the limited partners’ interest as noncontrolling interests.

The operations of the VIEs are funded with cash flows generated by the properties, or in the case of developments, with capital contributions or third party construction loans. Regency does not provide financial support to the VIEs beyond the terms stipulated in the partnership operating agreements.

• Those partnerships for which the partners are involved in the day to day decisions and do not have any other aspects that would cause them to be considered VIEs, are evaluated for consolidation using the voting interest model.

◦ Those partnerships in which Regency has a controlling financial interest are consolidated and the limited partners’ ownership interest and share of net income is recorded as noncontrolling interest.

◦ Those partnerships in which Regency does not have a controlling financial interest are accounted for using the equity method, and its ownership interest is recognized through single-line presentation as Investments in real estate partnerships in the Consolidated Balance Sheet, and Equity in income of investments in real estate partnerships in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Cash distributions of earnings from operations of investments in real estate partnerships are presented in cash flows provided by operating activities in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Cash distributions from the sale of a property or loan proceeds received from the placement of debt on a property included in investments in real estate partnerships are presented in cash flows provided by investing activities in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The net difference in the carrying amount of investments in real estate partnerships and the underlying equity in net assets is either (1) accreted to income and recorded in Equity in income of investments in real estate partnerships in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations over the expected useful lives of the properties and other intangible assets, which range in lives from 10 to 40 years, or (2) recognized upon sale of the underlying asset(s) or settlement of underlying liabilities, or (3) recognized at liquidation if the joint venture agreement includes a unilateral right to elect to dissolve the real estate partnership and, upon such an election, receive a distribution in-kind.

The assets of the partnerships are restricted to the use of the partnerships and cannot be used as security by general creditors of the Company. And similarly, the obligations of the partnerships can only be settled by the assets of the partnerships.

Consolidation, Policy

Consolidation

The Company consolidates properties that are wholly owned and properties where it owns less than 100%, but which it controls. Control is determined using an evaluation based on accounting standards related to the consolidation of voting interest entities and variable interest entities ("VIEs"). For joint ventures that are determined to be a VIE, the Company consolidates the entity where it is deemed to be the primary beneficiary. Determination of the primary beneficiary is based on whether an entity has (1) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the entity's economic performance, and (2) the obligation to absorb losses of the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the VIE. The Company's determination of the primary beneficiary considers all relationships between it and the VIE, including management agreements and other contractual arrangements.

Ownership of the Operating Partnership

The Operating Partnership’s capital includes general and limited common Partnership Units. As of September 30, 2017, the Parent Company owned approximately 99.8% of the outstanding common Partnership Units of the Operating Partnership with the remaining limited Partnership Units held by third parties (“Exchangeable operating partnership units” or “EOP units”). The Parent Company serves as general partner of the Operating Partnership. The EOP unit holders have limited rights over the Operating Partnership such that they do not have the power to direct the activities of the Operating Partnership. As such, the Operating Partnership is considered a VIE, and the Parent Company, which consolidates it, is the primary beneficiary. The Parent Company’s only investment is the Operating Partnership. Net income and distributions of the Operating Partnership are allocable to the general and limited common Partnership Units in accordance with their ownership percentages.