Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Our Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

The Company's Consolidated Financial Statements include the Operating Partnership, wholly owned subsidiaries and those entities in which the Company has the controlling interest. The Operating Partnership's Consolidated Financial Statements include wholly owned subsidiaries and those entities in which the Operating Partnership has the controlling interest. We consolidate joint venture investments, such as interests in partnerships and limited liability companies, when we control the major operating and financial policies of the investment through majority ownership, in our capacity as a general partner or managing member or through some other contractual right. At December 31, 2018, three properties owned through a joint venture investment were consolidated.

All intercompany transactions and accounts have been eliminated.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with GAAP requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Insurance

Beginning in 2018, we are primarily self-insured for health care claims for participating employees. We have stop-loss coverage to limit our exposure to significant claims on a per claim and annual aggregate basis. We determine our liabilities for claims, including incurred but not reported losses, based on all relevant information, including actuarial estimates of claim liabilities. At December 31, 2018, a reserve of $0.5 million was recorded to cover estimated reported and unreported claims.

Real Estate and Related Assets

Real estate and related assets are recorded at cost and stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Renovations, replacements and other expenditures that improve or extend the life of assets are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Expenditures for ordinary maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of 40 years for buildings and depreciable land infrastructure costs, 15 years for building improvements and five to seven years for furniture, fixtures and equipment. Tenant improvements are amortized using the straight-line method over initial fixed terms of the respective leases, which generally are from three to 10 years. Depreciation expense for real estate assets was $191.0 million, $184.4 million and $173.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively.

Expenditures directly related to the development and construction of real estate assets are included in net real estate assets and are stated at depreciated cost. Development expenditures include pre-construction costs essential to the development of properties, development and construction costs, interest costs on qualifying assets, real estate taxes, development personnel salaries and related costs and other costs incurred during the period of development. Interest and other carrying costs are capitalized until the building is ready for its intended use, but not later than a year from cessation of major construction activity. We consider a construction project as substantially completed and ready for its intended use upon the completion of tenant improvements. We cease capitalization on the portion that is substantially completed and occupied or held available for occupancy, and capitalize only those costs associated with the portion under construction.

Expenditures directly related to the leasing of properties are included in deferred leasing costs and are stated at amortized cost. Such expenditures are part of the investment necessary to execute leases and, therefore, are classified as investment activities in the statement of cash flows. All leasing commissions paid to third parties for new leases or lease renewals are capitalized. Internal leasing costs, which consist primarily of compensation, benefits and other costs, such as legal fees related to leasing activities, that are incurred in connection with successfully obtaining leases of properties are also capitalized. Capitalized leasing costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the initial fixed terms of the respective leases, which generally are from three to 10 years. Estimated costs related to unsuccessful activities are expensed as incurred.

We record liabilities for the performance of asset retirement activities when the obligation to perform such activities is probable even when uncertainty exists about the timing and/or method of settlement.

Upon the acquisition of real estate assets, we assess the fair value of acquired tangible assets such as land, buildings and tenant improvements, intangible assets and liabilities such as above and below market leases, acquired in-place leases, customer relationships and other identifiable intangible assets and assumed liabilities. We assess fair value based on estimated cash flow projections that utilize discount and/or capitalization rates as well as available market information. The fair value of the tangible assets of an acquired property considers the value of the property as if it were vacant.

The above and below market rate portions of leases acquired in connection with property acquisitions are recorded in deferred leasing costs and in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities, respectively, at fair value and amortized into rental revenue over the remaining term of the respective leases as described below. Fair value is calculated as the present value of the difference between (1) the contractual amounts to be paid pursuant to each in-place lease and (2) our estimate of fair market lease rates for each corresponding in-place lease, using a discount rate that reflects the risks associated with the leases acquired and measured over a period equal to the remaining initial term of the lease for above-market leases and the remaining initial term plus the term of any renewal option that the customer would be economically compelled to exercise for below-market leases.

In-place leases acquired are recorded at fair value in deferred leasing costs and are amortized to depreciation and amortization expense over the remaining term of the respective lease. The value of in-place leases is based on our evaluation of the specific characteristics of each customer's lease. Factors considered include estimates of carrying costs during hypothetical expected lease-up periods, current market conditions, the customer's credit quality and costs to execute similar leases. In estimating carrying costs, we include real estate taxes, insurance and other operating expenses and estimates of lost rentals at market rates during the expected lease-up periods, depending on local market conditions. In estimating costs to execute similar leases, we consider tenant improvements, leasing commissions and legal and other related expenses.

1. Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies – Continued

Real estate and other assets are classified as long-lived assets held for use or as long-lived assets held for sale. Real estate is classified as held for sale when the sale of the asset is probable, has been duly approved by the Company, a legally enforceable contract has been executed and the buyer's due diligence period, if any, has expired.

Impairments of Real Estate Assets and Investments in Unconsolidated Affiliates

With respect to assets classified as held for use, we perform an impairment analysis if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may be impaired, such as a significant decline in occupancy, identification of materially adverse legal or environmental factors, change in our designation of an asset from core to non-core, which may impact the anticipated holding period, or a decline in market value to an amount less than cost. This analysis is generally performed at the property level, except when an asset is part of an interdependent group such as an office park, and consists of determining whether the asset's carrying amount will be recovered from its undiscounted estimated future operating and residual cash flows. These cash flows are estimated based on a number of assumptions that are subject to economic and market uncertainties including, among others, demand for space, competition for customers, changes in market rental rates, costs to operate each property and expected ownership periods. For properties under development, the cash flows are based on expected service potential of the asset or asset group when development is substantially complete.

If the carrying amount of a held for use asset exceeds the sum of its undiscounted future operating and residual cash flows, an impairment loss is recorded for the difference between estimated fair value of the asset and the carrying amount. We generally estimate the fair value of assets held for use by using discounted cash flow analyses. In some instances, appraisal information may be available and is used in addition to a discounted cash flow analysis. As the factors used in generating these cash flows are difficult to predict and are subject to future events that may alter our assumptions, the discounted and/or undiscounted future operating and residual cash flows estimated by us in our impairment analyses or those established by appraisal may not be achieved and we may be required to recognize future impairment losses on properties held for use.

We record assets held for sale at the lower of the carrying amount or estimated fair value. Fair value of assets held for sale is equal to the estimated or contracted sales price with a potential buyer, less costs to sell. The impairment loss is the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the estimated fair value.

We also analyze our investments in unconsolidated affiliates for impairment. This analysis consists of determining whether an expected loss in market value of an investment is other than temporary by evaluating the length of time and the extent to which the market value has been less than cost, the financial condition and near-term prospects of the investment, and our intent and ability to retain our investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for any anticipated recovery in market value. As the factors used in this analysis are difficult to predict and are subject to future events that may alter our assumptions, we may be required to recognize future impairment losses on our investments in unconsolidated affiliates.

Sales of Real Estate

Rental and Other Revenues

Minimum contractual rents from leases are recognized on a straight-line basis over the terms of the respective leases. This means that, with respect to a particular lease, actual amounts billed in accordance with the lease during any given period may be higher or lower than the amount of rental revenue recognized for the period. Straight-line rental revenue is commenced when the customer assumes control of the leased premises. Accrued straight-line rents receivable represents the amount by which straight-line rental revenue exceeds rents currently billed in accordance with lease agreements. Contingent rental revenue, such as percentage rent, is accrued when the contingency is removed. Termination fee income is recognized at the later of when the customer has vacated the space or the lease has expired and a fully executed lease termination agreement has been delivered, the amount of the fee is determinable and collectability of the fee is reasonably assured.

Cost recovery income is determined on a calendar year and a lease-by-lease basis. The most common types of cost recovery income in our leases are common area maintenance (“CAM”) and real estate taxes, for which a customer typically pays its pro-rata share of operating and administrative expenses and real estate taxes in excess of the costs incurred during a contractually specified base year. The computation of cost recovery income is complex and involves numerous judgments, including the interpretation of lease provisions. Leases are not uniform in dealing with such cost recovery income and there are many variations in the computation. Many customers make monthly fixed payments of CAM, real estate taxes and other cost reimbursement items. We accrue income related to these payments each month. We make quarterly accrual adjustments, positive or negative, to cost recovery income to adjust the recorded amounts to our best estimate of the final annual amounts to be billed and collected. After the end of the calendar year, we compute each customer's final cost recovery income and, after considering amounts paid by the customer during the year, issue a bill or credit for the appropriate amount to the customer. The differences between the amounts billed less previously received payments and the accrual adjustment are recorded as increases or decreases to cost recovery income when the final bills are prepared, which occurs during the first half of the subsequent year.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

Accounts receivable, accrued straight-line rents receivable and mortgages and notes receivable are reduced by an allowance for amounts that may become uncollectible in the future. We regularly evaluate the adequacy of our allowance for doubtful accounts. The evaluation primarily consists of reviewing past due account balances and considering such factors as the credit quality of our customer, historical trends of the customer and changes in customer payment terms. Additionally, with respect to customers in bankruptcy, we estimate the probable recovery through bankruptcy claims and adjust the allowance for amounts deemed uncollectible. If our assumptions regarding the collectability of receivables prove incorrect, we could experience losses in excess of our allowance for doubtful accounts. The allowance and its related receivable are written-off when we have concluded there is a low probability of collection and we have discontinued collection efforts.

Discontinued Operations

Properties that are sold or classified as held for sale are classified as discontinued operations provided that the disposal represents a strategic shift that has (or will have) a major effect on our operations and financial results. Interest expense is included in discontinued operations if a related loan securing the sold property is to be paid off or assumed by the buyer in connection with the sale.

Lease Incentives

Lease incentive costs, which are payments made to or on behalf of a customer as an incentive to sign a lease, are capitalized in deferred leasing costs and amortized on a straight-line basis over the respective lease terms as a reduction of rental revenues.

Investments in Unconsolidated Affiliates

We account for our joint venture investments using the equity method of accounting when our interests represent a general partnership interest but substantive participating rights or substantive kick out rights have been granted to the limited partners or when our interests do not represent a general partnership interest and we do not control the major operating and financial policies of the investment. These investments are initially recorded at cost as investments in unconsolidated affiliates and are subsequently adjusted for our share of earnings and cash contributions and distributions. To the extent our cost basis at formation of the joint venture is different than the basis reflected at the joint venture level, the basis difference is amortized over the life of the related assets and included in our share of equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates.

Cash Equivalents

We consider highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash represents cash deposits that are legally restricted or held by third parties on our behalf, such as construction-related escrows, property disposition proceeds set aside and designated or intended to fund future tax-deferred exchanges of qualifying real estate investments and escrows and reserves for debt service, real estate taxes and property insurance established pursuant to certain mortgage financing arrangements.

Redeemable Common Units and Preferred Units

Limited partners holding Common Units other than the Company (“Redeemable Common Units”) have the right to put any and all of the Common Units to the Operating Partnership and the Company has the right to put any and all of the Preferred Units to the Operating Partnership in exchange for their liquidation preference plus accrued and unpaid distributions in the event of a corresponding redemption by the Company of the underlying Preferred Stock. Consequently, these Redeemable Common Units and Preferred Units are classified outside of permanent partners’ capital in the Operating Partnership's accompanying balance sheets. The recorded value of the Redeemable Common Units is based on fair value at the balance sheet date as measured by the closing price of Common Stock on that date multiplied by the total number of Redeemable Common Units outstanding. The recorded value of the Preferred Units is based on their redemption value.

Income Tax

Income Taxes

The Company has elected and expects to continue to qualify as a REIT under Sections 856 through 860 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). A corporate REIT is a legal entity that holds real estate assets and, through the payment of dividends to stockholders, is generally permitted to reduce or avoid the payment of federal and state income taxes at the corporate level. To maintain qualification as a REIT, the Company is required to pay dividends to its stockholders equal to at least 90.0% of its annual REIT taxable income, excluding net capital gains. The partnership agreement requires the Operating Partnership to pay economically equivalent distributions on outstanding Common Units at the same time that the Company pays dividends on its outstanding Common Stock.

Other than income taxes related to its taxable REIT subsidiary, the Operating Partnership does not reflect any federal income taxes in its financial statements, since as a partnership the taxable effects of its operations are attributed to its partners. The Operating Partnership does record state income tax for states that tax partnership income directly.

We conduct certain business activities through a taxable REIT subsidiary, as permitted under the Code. The taxable REIT subsidiary is subject to federal, state and local income taxes on its taxable income. We record provisions for income taxes based on its income recognized for financial statement purposes, including the effects of differences between such income and the amount recognized for tax purposes.

Concentration of Credit Risk

At December 31, 2018, properties that we wholly own were leased to 1,654 customers. The geographic locations that comprise greater than 10.0% of our rental and other revenues are Raleigh, Atlanta, Tampa and Nashville. Our customers engage in a wide variety of businesses. No single customer generated more than 5% of our consolidated revenues during 2018.

We maintain our cash and cash equivalents and our restricted cash at financial or other intermediary institutions. The combined account balances at each institution may exceed FDIC insurance coverage and, as a result, there is a concentration of credit risk related to amounts on deposit in excess of FDIC insurance coverage. Additionally, from time to time in connection with tax-deferred 1031 transactions, our restricted cash balances may be commingled with other funds being held by any such intermediary institution, which would subject our balance to the credit risk of the institution.

Derivative Financial Instruments

We borrow funds at a combination of fixed and variable rates. Borrowings under our revolving credit facility and bank term loans bear interest at variable rates. Our long-term debt typically bears interest at fixed rates. Our interest rate risk management objectives are to limit generally the impact of interest rate changes on earnings and cash flows and lower our overall borrowing costs. To achieve these objectives, from time to time, we enter into interest rate hedge contracts such as collars, swaps, caps and treasury lock agreements in order to mitigate our interest rate risk with respect to existing and prospective debt instruments. We generally do not hold or issue these derivative contracts for trading or speculative purposes. The interest rate on all of our variable rate debt is generally adjusted at one or three month intervals, subject to settlements under these interest rate hedge contracts.

Interest rate swaps involve the receipt of variable-rate amounts from a counterparty in exchange for making fixed-rate payments over the life of the agreements without exchange of the underlying notional amount. The effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives designated and that qualify as cash flow hedges is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income/(loss) and is subsequently reclassified into interest expense in the period that the hedged forecasted transaction affects earnings.

We account for terminated derivative instruments by recognizing the related accumulated comprehensive income/(loss) balance in current earnings, unless the hedged forecasted transaction continues as originally planned, in which case we continue to amortize the accumulated comprehensive income/(loss) into earnings over the originally designated hedge period.

Earnings Per Share and Per Unit

Basic earnings per share of the Company is computed by dividing net income available for common stockholders by the weighted Common Shares outstanding - basic. Diluted earnings per share is computed by dividing net income available to common stockholders (inclusive of noncontrolling interests in the Operating Partnership) by the weighted Common Shares outstanding - basic plus the dilutive effect of options, warrants and convertible securities outstanding, including Common Units, using the treasury stock method. Weighted Common Shares outstanding - basic includes all unvested restricted stock where dividends received on such restricted stock are non-forfeitable.

Basic earnings per unit of the Operating Partnership is computed by dividing net income available for common unitholders by the weighted Common Units outstanding - basic. Diluted earnings per unit is computed by dividing net income available to common unitholders by the weighted Common Units outstanding - basic plus the dilutive effect of options and warrants, using the treasury stock method. Weighted Common Units outstanding - basic includes all of the Company's unvested restricted stock where distributions received on such restricted stock are non-forfeitable.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

The Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued an accounting standards update ("ASU") that superseded the revenue recognition requirements under previous guidance, which we adopted as of January 1, 2018. Several updates have been issued subsequently that are intended to promote a more consistent interpretation and application of the principles outlined in the ASU. The ASU requires the use of a new five-step model to recognize revenue from contracts with customers. The five-step model requires that we identify the contract with the customer, identify the performance obligations in the contract, determine the transaction price, allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract and recognize revenue when we satisfy the performance obligations. We are also required to disclose information regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. In analyzing our contracts with customers, we determined that the most material potential impact from the adoption of this ASU would be in how revenue is recognized for sales of real estate with post sale involvement. Prior to the adoption of this ASU, profit for such sales transactions was recognized and then reduced by the maximum exposure to loss related to the nature of the post sale involvement at the time of sale. Upon adoption of this ASU, any post sale involvement must be accounted for as a separate performance obligation in the contract and a portion of the sales price allocated to each performance obligation. When the post sale involvement performance obligation is satisfied, the portion of the sales price allocated to it will be recognized. We had no sales of real estate with continuing involvement during the year ended December 31, 2018 or prior periods; however, we will use such methodology for any future real estate sales with continuing involvement. Our internal controls with respect to accounting for such sales have been updated accordingly. Adoption of this ASU resulted in no other changes with respect to the timing of revenue recognition or internal controls related to contracts such as management, development and construction fees and transient parking income, all of which are not material to our Consolidated Financial Statements. As such, there is no cumulative-effect adjustment from the adoption of this ASU reflected in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

The FASB issued an ASU that requires entities to show changes in total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. As a result, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents will be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning of period and end of period balances rather than presented as transfers between cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. We adopted the ASU as of January 1, 2018 with retrospective application to our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Accordingly, our Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows present a reconciliation of the changes in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash. The effect of the adoption resulted in a $55.9 million decrease in net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2017 and a $12.4 million increase in net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2016.

The FASB issued an ASU that clarifies and narrows the definition of a business used in determining whether to account for a transaction as an asset acquisition or business combination. The guidance requires evaluation of the fair value of the assets acquired to determine if it is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets. If so, the transferred assets would not be a business. The guidance also requires a business to include at least one substantive process and narrows the definition of outputs. We adopted the ASU prospectively as of January 1, 2018. We expect that the majority of our future acquisitions would not meet the definition of a business; therefore, the related acquisition costs would be capitalized as part of the purchase price.

The FASB issued an ASU that clarifies when changes to the terms or conditions of a share-based payment award must be accounted for as modifications. The guidance requires modification accounting if the value, vesting conditions or classification of the award changes. We adopted the ASU as of January 1, 2018 with no effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

1. Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies – Continued

The FASB issued an ASU that sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases for both lessees and lessors. The new standard requires lessors to account for leases using an approach that is substantially equivalent to existing guidance for sales-type leases, direct financing leases and operating leases. In addition, the guidance requires lessors to capitalize and amortize only incremental direct leasing costs. The new standard requires lessees to apply a dual approach, classifying leases as either finance or operating leases based on the principle of whether or not the lease is effectively a financed purchase by the lessee. This classification will determine whether lease expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease, respectively. A lessee is also required to record a right of use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term of greater than a year regardless of their classification. Leases with a term of a year or less will be accounted for in the same manner as operating leases today. The guidance supersedes previously issued guidance under ASC Topic 840 “Leases.”

An entity may elect a package of practical expedients, which allows for the following:


•	An entity need not reassess whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain leases;


•	An entity need not reassess the lease classification for any expired or existing leases; and


•	An entity need not reassess initial direct costs for any existing leases.

This package of practical expedients is available as a single election that must be consistently applied to all existing leases at the date of adoption.

Furthermore, the FASB finalized an amendment that allows entities to present comparative periods, in the year of adoption, under ASC 840, which effectively allows for an initial date of adoption of January 1, 2019. The amendment also provides a practical expedient to lessors that removes the requirement to separate lease and non-lease components, provided certain conditions are met.

Our analysis of our leases indicates that the lease component is the predominant component, that the timing and pattern of transfer of our material non-lease components (primarily cost recovery income) are the same as the lease components and the lease component, if it were accounted for separately, would be classified as an operating lease. As such, we believe the adoption of the ASU will not significantly change the accounting or the related internal controls for rental and other revenues from operating leases where we are the lessor, and that such leases will be accounted for in a manner similar to existing standards with the underlying leased asset being reported and recognized as a real estate asset. Upon the adoption of the ASU, we will no longer capitalize and amortize certain leasing related costs and instead will expense these costs as incurred. Such capitalized costs have averaged approximately $2.5 million annually.

Leases where we are the lessee include primarily our operating ground leases. We currently believe that existing ground leases executed before the adoption date will continue to be accounted for as operating leases and the new guidance will not have a material impact on our recognition of ground lease expense or our results of operations. However, we will be required to recognize a right of use asset and a lease liability on our Consolidated Balance Sheets equal to the present value of the minimum lease payments required under each ground lease, which we believe will range from $31 million to $36 million. See Note 7 for information regarding our ground lease commitments.

We will adopt the new ASU effective January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective approach and will elect the use of all practical expedients provided by the ASU and related amendments as mentioned above.

The FASB issued an ASU that eliminates the requirement to separately measure and report hedge ineffectiveness and generally requires the entire change in the fair value of a hedging instrument to be presented in the same income statement line as the hedged item when the hedged item affects earnings. The ASU is required to be adopted in 2019 using a modified retrospective approach. We do not expect such adoption to have a material effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

1. Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies – Continued

The FASB issued an ASU that requires, among other things, the use of a new current expected credit loss ("CECL") model in determining our allowances for doubtful accounts with respect to accounts receivable, accrued straight-line rents receivable and mortgages and notes receivable. The FASB recently finalized its proposal to exclude operating lease receivables from the scope of this ASU. As such, we do not expect the adoption of this ASU in 2020 to have a material effect on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

The FASB issued an ASU that changes certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. The ASU is required to be adopted in 2020 and applied prospectively. We do not expect such adoption to have a material effect on our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.