Organization and Principles of Consolidation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Consolidation, Variable Interest Entity, Policy

Real Estate Partnerships

As of September 30, 2018, Regency had a partial ownership interest in 131 properties through partnerships, of which 11 are consolidated. Regency's partners include institutional investors, other real estate developers and/or operators, and individual parties who had a role in Regency sourcing 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 the 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 majority of 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.


•	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 Sheets, and Equity in income of investments in real estate partnerships in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Cash distributions of earnings from operations from 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. Distributed proceeds from debt refinancing and real estate sales in excess of Regency's carrying value of its investment has resulted in a negative investment balance for one partnership, which is recorded within accounts payable and other liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.


◦	The net difference in the carrying amount of investments in real estate partnerships and the underlying equity in net assets is 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 from 10 to 40 years.

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

The major classes of assets, liabilities, and non-controlling equity interests held by the Company's consolidated VIEs, exclusive of the Operating Partnership as a whole, are as follows:



(in thousands)	September 30, 2018		December 31, 2017
Assets
Net real estate investments	$	163,283	172,736
Cash and cash equivalents	4,635		4,993
Liabilities
Notes payable	18,403		16,551
Equity
Limited partners’ interests in consolidated partnerships	17,263		17,572

Revenue Recognition, Services, Management Fees [Policy Text Block]

Revenues and Tenant and Other Receivables

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted the new accounting guidance for revenue recognition (Topic 606 Revenue from Contracts with Customers, “Topic 606”), as discussed further in the section below, Recent Accounting Pronouncements. Upon adoption of the new standard, certain of the Company's significant accounting policies subject to Topic 606 have been updated.

The Company adopted Topic 606 using a modified retrospective approach and applied the transition practical expedients allowed by the standard. Additionally, the Company applied the practical expedient related to the remaining performance obligations, because all of its performance obligations are satisfied at a point in time, are part of a contract that has an original expected duration of one year or less, or are considered to be a series of performance obligations where variable consideration is allocated entirely to a wholly unsatisfied distinct day of service that forms part of the series, such that the Company does not need to estimate variable consideration to recognize revenue.

Subsequent to the adoption of Topic 606, the Company recognizes revenue when or as control of the promised services are transferred to its customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for those services. The following is a description of the Company's revenue from contracts with customers which is in the scope of Topic 606.

Property and Asset Management Services

The Company is engaged under agreements with its joint venture partnerships, which are generally perpetual in nature and cancellable through unanimous partner approval, absent an event of default. Under these agreements, the Company is to provide asset management, property management, and leasing services for the joint ventures' shopping centers. The fees are market-based, generally calculated as a percentage of either revenues earned or the estimated values of the properties managed or the proceeds received, and are recognized over the monthly or quarterly periods as services are rendered. Property management and asset management services represent a series of distinct daily services. Accordingly, the Company satisfies its performance obligation as service is rendered each day and the variability associated with that compensation is resolved each day. Amounts due from the partnerships for such services are paid during the month following the monthly or quarterly service periods.

Several of the Company’s partnership agreements provide for incentive payments, generally referred to as “promotes” or “earnouts,” to Regency for appreciation in property values in Regency's capacity as manager. The terms of these promotes are based on appreciation in real estate value over designated time intervals. The Company evaluates its expected promote payout at each reporting period, which generally does not result in revenue recognition until the measurement period has completed, when the amount can be reasonably determined and the amount is not probable of significant reversal. The Company did not recognize any promote revenue during the nine months ended September 30, 2018 or 2017.

Leasing Services

Leasing service fees are based on a percentage of the total rent due under the lease. The leasing service is considered performed upon successful execution of an acceptable tenant lease for the joint ventures’ shopping centers, at which time revenue is recognized. Payment of the first half of the fee is generally due upon lease execution and the second half is generally due upon tenant opening or rent payments commencing.

Transaction Services

The Company also receives transaction fees, as contractually agreed upon with each joint venture, which include acquisition fees, disposition fees, and financing service fees. Control of these services is generally transferred at the time the related transaction closes, which is the point in time when the Company recognizes the related fee revenue. Any unpaid amounts related to transaction-based fees are included in Accounts receivable.

All income from contracts with the Company's real estate partnerships is included within Management, transaction and other fees on the Consolidated Statements of Operations, as follows:



		Three months ended September 30,			Nine months ended September 30,
(in thousands)	Timing of satisfaction of performance obligations	2018		2017	2018		2017
Property management services	Over time	$	3,588	3,446	$	11,008	10,452
Asset management services	Over time	1,840		1,762	5,347		5,314
Leasing services	Point in time	969		669	2,726		2,285
Other transaction fees	Point in time	557		170	1,918		1,302
Total management, transaction, and other fees		$	6,954	6,047	$	20,999	19,353

The accounts receivable for management services, which are included within Tenant and other receivables in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets, are $10.1 million and $8.7 million, as of September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.

Real Estate Sales

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted the new accounting guidance for sales of nonfinancial assets (“Subtopic 610-20”), as discussed further in the section below, Recent Accounting Pronouncements. Upon adoption of the new standard, the Company's accounting policy for real estate sales subject to Subtopic 610-20 has been updated. The Company now derecognizes real estate and recognizes a gain or loss on sales of real estate when a contract exists and control of the property has transferred to the buyer. Control of the property, including controlling financial interest, is generally considered to transfer upon closing through transfer of the legal title and possession of the property. Any retained non-controlling interest is measured at fair value. This change in accounting policy resulted in the recognition, through opening retained earnings on January 1, 2018, of $30.9 million of previously deferred gains from property sales to the Company's Investments in real estate partnerships.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Goodwill, Policy

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase price consideration for the Equity One merger over the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, which amount reflects expected synergies from combining Regency's and Equity One's operations and the deferred tax liability at one of the acquired taxable REIT subsidiaries. The Company accounts for goodwill in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other, and allocates its goodwill to its reporting units, which have been determined to be at the individual property level. The Company performs an impairment evaluation of its goodwill at least annually, in November of each year, or more frequently as triggers occur.

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 reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying value, including goodwill. If a qualitative approach indicates it is more likely-than-not that the estimated carrying value of a reporting unit (including goodwill) exceeds its fair value, or if the Company chooses to bypass the qualitative approach for any reporting unit, the Company will perform the quantitative approach described below.

The quantitative approach consists of estimating the fair value of each reporting unit 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, the Company would then recognize a goodwill 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.

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:
Accounting Standards Update ("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 adoption method requires 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 adopted this ASU using a modified retrospective transition method, which resulted in an immaterial adjustment to opening retained earnings and accumulated other comprehensive income for previously recognized hedge ineffectiveness from off-market hedges.

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.	January 2018	The Company's adoption of this standard did not have a significant impact on its results of operations, financial condition or cash flows as the company has an insignificant amount of equity securities within the scope of this standard. The adoption resulted in reduced disclosure requirements around methodology and significant assumptions used in fair value measurements.

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.	January 2018	The adoption of this ASU did not result in a change to the Company's Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

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 are applied using a retrospective transition method to each period presented.	January 2018	The adoption of this ASU resulted in a change to the classification and presentation of changes in restricted cash on its cash flow statement, which was not material. There was no change to the Company's financial condition or results of operations as a result of adopting this ASU. Upon adoption, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, net cash provided by operating activities increased by $1.6 million and net cash used in investing activities decreased by $1.0 million, with a corresponding increase in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash within the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.



Standard	Description	Date of adoption	Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters
Not yet adopted:

Leases (Topic 842) and related updates: ASU 2016-02, February 2016, Leases (Topic 842) ASU 2018-10, July 2018: Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases ASU 2018-11, July 2018, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements	Topic 842 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. The provisions of these ASUs are effective as of January 1, 2019, with early adoption permitted. Topic 842 provides 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 or an additional transition method, allowing for initial application at the date of adoption and a cumulative-effect adjustment to opening retained earnings.	January 2019	The Company continues to evaluate the impact this standard will have on its financial statements and related disclosures. Based on adoption and implementation efforts to date, management has identified expected changes from the new standard from its perspective as both a lessee and a lessor, as noted below:

	Lessee Accounting: The new standard establishes a right-of-use model (“ROU”) that requires a lessee to recognize a ROU asset and lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with a term longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern and classification of expense recognition in the income statement. An entity may choose to use either (1) its effective date or (2) the beginning of the earliest comparable period presented in the financial statements as its date of initial application. The new standard provides a number of optional practical expedients in transition. The Company expects to elect the “package of practical expedients”, which allows the Company not to reassess under the new standard prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification, and initial direct costs. The new standard will also provide significant new disclosures about the Company’s leasing activities.		The Company has ground lease agreements in which the Company is the lessee for land beneath all or a portion of the buildings at certain consolidated shopping centers. The Company also has office leases for its headquarters and field offices. Based on current estimates, which include interest rate assumptions subject to change, the Company anticipates recognizing operating lease liabilities for its ground and office leases, with a corresponding ROU asset, of less than 5% of total assets. For these existing operating leases, the Company will continue to recognize a single lease expense for its existing ground and office operating leases, currently included in Operating and maintenance expenses and General and administrative expenses, respectively, in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Future ground leases entered into or acquired subsequent to the adoption date may be classified as operating or finance leases, based on specific classification criteria. Finance leases would result in a slightly accelerated impact to earnings, using the effective interest method, and different classification of the expense.



Standard	Description	Date of adoption	Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters
ASU 2018-15, August 2018, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40): Customer's Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract	The amendments in this ASU align the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license). The ASU provides further clarification of the appropriate presentation of capitalized costs, the period over which to recognize the expense, the presentation within the Statements of Operations and Statements of Cash Flows, and the disclosure requirements. Early adoption of the standard is permitted.	January 2020	The Company is currently evaluating the accounting standard, but does not expect the adoption to have a material impact on its financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

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.

ASU 2018-13, August 2018, Fair Value Measurements (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement	This ASU modifies the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements within the scope of Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement, including the removal and modification of certain existing disclosures, and the addition of new disclosures.	January 2020	The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this new accounting standard, which is expected to only impact fair value measurement disclosures and therefore should have no impact on the Company's financial position, results of operations, or cash flows.

Description

Date of adoption

Effect on the financial statements or other significant matters

ASU 2017-05, February 2017, Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20)

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 non-controlling 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.

January 2018

Sales of real estate assets are now accounted for under Subtopic 610-20, which provides for revenue recognition based on transfer of control.

For normal arms length property sales to unrelated parties, where Regency has no retained interest in the property, the Company will continue to recognize the full gain or loss upon transfer of control. For property sales in which Regency retains a noncontrolling interest in the property, fair value recognition for the retained noncontrolling interest is now required, which will result in full gain recognition upon loss of control.

The Company applied the modified retrospective adoption method, and on January 1, 2018, recognized through opening retained earnings $30.9 million of previously deferred gains from property sales to entities in which Regency had continuing involvement, resulting in a corresponding increase to the value of the Company's investment in those partnerships.