5. Real Estate Properties

Our real estate properties, at cost after impairments, consisted of land of $1,484,210, buildings and improvements of $5,599,957 and furniture, fixtures and equipment of $572,026, as of December 31, 2014; and land of $1,470,513, buildings and improvements of $5,351,413 and furniture, fixtures and equipment of $595,439 as of December 31, 2013.

During 2014, 2013 and 2012, we funded $230,531, $346,320 and $357,084, respectively, of improvements to certain of our properties which pursuant to the terms of our management agreements and leases with our hotel managers and tenants resulted in increases in our contractual annual minimum returns and rents of $17,670, $27,612 and $27,813 in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

At December 31, 2014, 14 of our hotels were on land we leased from unrelated third parties. In each case, the remaining term of the ground lease (including renewal options) is in excess of 20 years. Ground rent payable under nine of the ground leases is generally calculated as a percentage of hotel revenues. Twelve of the 14 ground leases require minimum annual rents averaging $225 per year; future rents under two ground leases have been pre‑paid. Eighteen (18) of our travel centers are on land we leased partially or in its entirety from unrelated third parties. The remaining terms on the leases range from 4 to 36 years with rents averaging $491 per year. Generally payments of ground lease obligations are made by our managers or tenants. However, if a manager or tenant did not perform obligations under a ground lease or did not renew any ground lease, we might have to perform obligations under the ground lease or renew the ground lease in order to protect our investment in the affected property. Any pledge, sale or transfer of our interests in a ground lease may require the consent of the applicable ground lessor and its lenders.

One of the travel centers we leased to TA under our TA No. 1 lease, located in Roanoke, VA, was taken in August 2013 by eminent domain proceedings brought by the Virginia Department of Transportation, or the VDOT, in connection with certain highway construction. In January 2014, we received $6,178 of proceeds from the VDOT in connection with the taking. See Note 9 for more information regarding this transaction.

On April 29, 2014, we sold our Sonesta ES Suites branded hotel in Myrtle Beach, SC for net proceeds of $4,288. As a result of this sale, we recorded a $130 gain on sale of real estate in the three months ended June 30, 2014. See Note 9 for further information regarding this transaction.

On May 30, 2014, we acquired a 240 room full service hotel located in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for $65,000, excluding related acquisition costs of $204. We accounted for this transaction as a business combination. The following table summarizes our allocation of the acquisition cost to the estimated fair value of the assets we acquired.



Land	$	14,592
Building	40,525
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	9,883
	$	65,000

We converted this hotel to a Sonesta branded hotel and added it to our Sonesta agreement. See Notes 6 and 9 for more information regarding this transaction and our Sonesta agreement. We have included the results of this acquisition in our consolidated financial statements from the date of acquisition. The pro forma impact of including the results of operations of this acquisition from the beginning of the period is not material to our consolidated financial statements.

On September 23, 2014, we exercised our option to purchase the land and improvements at the travel center we lease in Waterloo, NY for $16,000, excluding closing costs. We currently expect to complete this acquisition in October 2015. This acquisition is subject to closing conditions, and accordingly, we can provide no assurance that we will acquire this property or that this acquisition will not be delayed or that the terms of the acquisition will not change. See Note 9 for further information regarding this transaction.

At December 31, 2014, our Marriott Courtyard hotel in Norcross, GA with a carrying value of $4,143 was held for sale. This amount is included in other assets, net in our consolidated financial statements. See Note 6 for further information relating to our hotel held for sale.

On January 30, 2015, we entered an agreement to acquire a Holiday Inn & Suites branded hotel located in Rosemont, IL with 300 rooms for a purchase price of $35,500, excluding closing costs. We currently expect to complete this acquisition in March 2015 using cash on hand and borrowings. This acquisition is subject to closing conditions, and accordingly, we can provide no assurance that we will acquire this property or that this acquisition will not be delayed or that the terms of the acquisition will not change. See Note 6 for further information relating to this transaction.