Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Investments In Unconsolidated Joint Ventures

v3.20.4
Investments In Unconsolidated Joint Ventures
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Investments In Unconsolidated Joint Ventures [Line Items]  
Investments In Unconsolidated Joint Ventures

4.    INVESTMENTS IN UNCONSOLIDATED JOINT VENTURES

As of December 31, 2020, the Company had an aggregate investment of approximately $162.4 million in its equity method joint ventures. The Company formed these ventures with unaffiliated third parties, or acquired interests in them, to develop or manage primarily office and multi-family rental properties, or to acquire land in anticipation of possible development of office and multi-family rental properties. As of December 31, 2020, the unconsolidated joint ventures owned: two office properties aggregating approximately 0.2 million square feet, six multi-family properties totaling 1,786 apartment units, a retail property aggregating approximately 51,000 square feet, a 351-room hotel, a development project for up to approximately 360 apartment units; and interests and/or rights to developable land parcels able to accommodate up to 1,621 apartment units. The Company’s unconsolidated interests range from 20 percent to 85 percent subject to specified priority allocations in certain of the joint ventures.

The amounts reflected in the following tables (except for the Company’s share of equity in earnings) are based on the historical financial information of the individual joint ventures. The Company does not record losses of the joint ventures in excess of its investment balances unless the Company is liable for the obligations of the joint venture or is otherwise committed to provide financial support to the joint venture. The outside basis portion of the Company’s investments in joint ventures is amortized over the anticipated useful lives of the underlying ventures’ tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Unless otherwise noted below, the debt of the Company’s unconsolidated joint ventures generally is non-recourse to the Company, except for customary exceptions pertaining to such matters as intentional misuse of funds, environmental conditions, and material misrepresentations.

The Company has agreed to guarantee repayment of a portion of the debt of its unconsolidated joint ventures. As of December 31, 2020, such debt had a total borrowing capacity of $304.0 million of which the Company agreed to guarantee up to $33.2 million. As of December 31, 2020, the outstanding balance of such debt totaled $267.6 million of which $29.6 million was guaranteed by the Company. The Company performed management, leasing, development and other services for the properties owned by the unconsolidated joint ventures and recognized $2.2 million and $2.4 million for such services in the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Company had $0.3 million and $0.6 million in accounts receivable due from its unconsolidated joint ventures as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Included in the Company’s investments in unconsolidated joint ventures as of December 31, 2020 are three unconsolidated joint ventures, two of which are operating properties and one development project, which are VIEs for which the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These joint ventures are primarily established to develop real estate property for long-term investment and were deemed VIEs primarily based on the fact that the equity investment at risk was not sufficient to permit the entities to finance their activities without additional financial support. The initial equity contributed to these entities was not sufficient to fully finance the real estate construction as development costs are funded by the partners throughout the construction period. The Company determined that it was not the primary beneficiary of these VIEs based on the fact that the Company has shared control of these entities along with the entity’s partners and therefore does not have controlling financial interests in these VIEs. The Company’s aggregate investment in these VIEs was approximately $109.0 million as of December 31, 2020. The Company’s maximum exposure to loss as a result of its involvement with these VIEs is estimated to be approximately $142.2 million, which includes the Company’s current investment and estimated future funding commitments/guarantees of approximately $33.2 million. The Company has not provided financial support to these VIEs that it was not previously contractually required to provide. In general, future costs of development not financed through third parties will be funded with capital contributions from the Company and its outside partners in accordance with their respective ownership percentages.   

The following is a summary of the Company's unconsolidated joint ventures as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 (dollars in thousands):

Property Debt

Number of

Company's

Carrying Value

As of December 31, 2020

Apartment Units

Effective

December 31,

December 31,

Maturity

Interest

Entity / Property Name

or Rentable SF

Ownership % (a)

2020

2019

Balance

Date

Rate

Multi-family

Metropolitan and Lofts at
40 Park (b) (c)

189 

units

25.00 

%

$

3,347

$

7,257 

$

60,767 

(d)

(d)

RiverTrace at Port Imperial

316 

units

22.50 

%

6,667

7,463 

82,000 

11/10/26

3.21 

%

Crystal House (e)

825 

units

25.00 

%

-

28,823 

-

-

-

PI North - Riverwalk C (f)

360 

units

40.00 

%

36,992

35,527 

75,569

12/06/21

L+2.75

%

Riverpark at Harrison (g)

141 

units

45.00 

%

681

1,015 

30,192 

07/01/35

3.19 

%

Station House

378 

units

50.00 

%

34,026

35,676 

95,137

07/01/33

4.82 

%

Urby at Harborside (h)

762 

units

85.00 

%

72,752

79,790 

192,000 

08/01/29

5.197 

%

PI North - Land (b) (i)

771

potential units

20.00 

%

1,678

1,678 

-

-

-

Liberty Landing

850 

potential units

50.00 

%

337

337 

-

-

-

Hillsborough 206 (m)

160,000 

sf

50.00 

%

-

1,962 

-

-

-

Office

12 Vreeland Road

139,750 

sf

50.00 

%

1,811

(j)

3,846 

(j)

4,582

07/01/23

2.87 

%

Offices at Crystal Lake

106,345 

sf

31.25 

%

3,744

3,521 

2,532

11/01/23

4.76 

%

Other

Riverwalk Retail (k)

30,745 

sf

20.00 

%

-

1,467 

-

-

-

Hyatt Regency Hotel Jersey City

351 

rooms

50.00 

%

-

-

100,000 

10/01/26

3.668 

%

Other (l)

347

729 

-

-

-

Totals:

$

162,382

$

209,091 

$

642,779

(a)

Company's effective ownership % represents the Company's entitlement to residual distributions after payments of priority returns, where applicable.

(b)

The Company's ownership interests in this venture are subordinate to its partner's preferred capital balance and the Company is not expected to meaningfully participate in the venture's cash flows in the near term.

(c)

Through the joint venture, the Company also owns a 25 percent interest in a 50,973 square feet retail building ("Shops at 40 Park") and a 50 percent interest in a 59-unit, five story multi-family rental property ("Lofts at 40 Park").

(d)

Property debt balance consists of: (i) an interest only loan, collateralized by the Metropolitan at 40 Park, refinanced on September 18, 2020, with a balance of $36,500, bears interest at LIBOR +2.85 percent, matures in October 2023; (ii) an amortizable loan, collateralized by the Shops at 40 Park, with a balance of $6,067, bears interest at LIBOR +1.5 percent and matures in October 2021; (iii) an interest only loan, collateralized by the Lofts at 40 Park, with a balance of $18,200, which bears interest at LIBOR +1.5 percent and matures in January 2023.

(e)

On December 31, 2020, the Crystal House Apartment Investors LLC, an unconsolidated joint venture property sold its sole apartment property and the Company recorded a gain of $35.1 million. See Note 3: Recent Transactions - Unconsolidated Joint Venture.

(f)

The venture has a construction loan with a maximum borrowing amount of $112,000, of which the Company has guaranteed 10 percent of the principal outstanding.

(g)

On June 10, 2020, the loan was refinanced with a borrowing amount of $30,192.

(h)

The Company owns an 85 percent interest with shared control over major decisions such as, approval of budgets, property financings and leasing guidelines. The Company has guaranteed $22 million of the principal outstanding debt.

(i)

The Company owns a 20 percent residual interest in undeveloped land parcels: parcels 6, I, and J that can accommodate the development of 771 apartment units.

(j)

At December 31, 2019, the Company evaluated the recoverability of the carrying value of certain investments in unconsolidated joint venture, being considered for sale in the short or medium term. The Company determined that due to tenant turnover, lease-up assumptions, along with the Company's plans to exit its investment, it was necessary to reduce the carrying value of the investment to its estimated fair value. Accordingly, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $2.6 million and $3.7 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(k)

On March 12, 2020, the Company acquired its equity partner's 80 percent interest and increased ownership to 100 percent. See Note 3: Recent Transactions - Consolidation.

(l)

The Company owns other interests in various unconsolidated joint ventures, including interests in assets previously owned and interest in ventures whose businesses are related to its core operations. These ventures are not expected to significantly impact the Company's operations in the near term. 

(m)

On December 17, 2020, the Company sold its interest in the joint venture for a sale price of $2.1 million and recorded a gain of $0.1 million.

 

The following is a summary of the Company’s equity in earnings (loss) of unconsolidated joint ventures for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 (dollars in thousands):

Year Ended December 31,

Entity / Property Name

2020

2019

2018

Multi-family

Marbella

$

-

$

-

$

205 

Metropolitan at 40 Park

(1,010)

(422)

(455)

RiverTrace at Port Imperial

111 

317 

154 

Crystal House

(924)

(687)

(874)

PI North - Riverwalk C / Land

(368)

(279)

(126)

Marbella II (b)

-

(15)

35 

Riverpark at Harrison

(273)

(172)

(232)

Station House

(1,650)

(2,000)

(2,096)

Urby at Harborside

1,095 

(c)

1,587 

(c)

(975)

(c)

Liberty Landing

(5)

-

(5)

Hillsborough 206

-

-

16 

Office

Red Bank (d)

-

8 

(215)

12 Vreeland Road

(2,035)

(3,172)

285 

Offices at Crystal Lake

224 

79 

73 

Other

Riverwalk Retail (e)

(10)

(72)

(86)

Hyatt Regency Hotel Jersey City

625 

3,388 

3,672 

Other

388

121 

497 

Company's equity in earnings (loss) of unconsolidated joint ventures (a)

$

(3,832)

$

(1,319)

$

(127)

 

(a)

Amounts are net of amortization of basis differences of $581 and $638 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(b)

On January 31, 2019, the Company acquired one of its equity partner's 50 percent interest and as a result, increased its ownership from 24.27 percent subordinated interest to 74.27 percent controlling interest, and ceased applying the equity method of accounting at such time.

(c)

Includes $2.6 million of the Company's share of the venture's income from its sale of an economic urban tax credit certificate from the State of New Jersey to a third party. The venture has an agreement to sell tax credits to a third party over the next seven years for $3 million per year for a total of $21 million. The sales are subject to the venture obtaining the tax credits from the State of New Jersey each year and transferring the tax credit certificate to the buyer each year.

(d)

On February 28, 2019, the Company sold its 50 percent interest to its partner and realized a gain of $0.9 million.

(e)

On March 12, 2020, the Company acquired its equity partner's 80 percent interest and increased ownership to 100 percent. See Note 3: Recent Transactions - Consolidation.

Mack-Cali Realty LP [Member]  
Investments In Unconsolidated Joint Ventures [Line Items]  
Investments In Unconsolidated Joint Ventures 4.    INVESTMENTS IN UNCONSOLIDATED JOINT VENTURES

As of December 31, 2020, the Company had an aggregate investment of approximately $162.4 million in its equity method joint ventures. The Company formed these ventures with unaffiliated third parties, or acquired interests in them, to develop or manage primarily office and multi-family rental properties, or to acquire land in anticipation of possible development of office and multi-family rental properties. As of December 31, 2020, the unconsolidated joint ventures owned: two office properties aggregating approximately 0.2 million square feet, six multi-family properties totaling 1,786 apartment units, a retail property aggregating approximately 51,000 square feet, a 351-room hotel, a development project for up to approximately 360 apartment units; and interests and/or rights to developable land parcels able to accommodate up to 1,621 apartment units. The Company’s unconsolidated interests range from 20 percent to 85 percent subject to specified priority allocations in certain of the joint ventures.

The amounts reflected in the following tables (except for the Company’s share of equity in earnings) are based on the historical financial information of the individual joint ventures. The Company does not record losses of the joint ventures in excess of its investment balances unless the Company is liable for the obligations of the joint venture or is otherwise committed to provide financial support to the joint venture. The outside basis portion of the Company’s investments in joint ventures is amortized over the anticipated useful lives of the underlying ventures’ tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Unless otherwise noted below, the debt of the Company’s unconsolidated joint ventures generally is non-recourse to the Company, except for customary exceptions pertaining to such matters as intentional misuse of funds, environmental conditions, and material misrepresentations.

The Company has agreed to guarantee repayment of a portion of the debt of its unconsolidated joint ventures. As of December 31, 2020, such debt had a total borrowing capacity of $304.0 million of which the Company agreed to guarantee up to $33.2 million. As of December 31, 2020, the outstanding balance of such debt totaled $267.6 million of which $29.6 million was guaranteed by the Company. The Company performed management, leasing, development and other services for the properties owned by the unconsolidated joint ventures and recognized $2.2 million and $2.4 million for such services in the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The Company had $0.3 million and $0.6 million in accounts receivable due from its unconsolidated joint ventures as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Included in the Company’s investments in unconsolidated joint ventures as of December 31, 2020 are three unconsolidated joint ventures, two of which are operating properties and one development project, which are VIEs for which the Company is not the primary beneficiary. These joint ventures are primarily established to develop real estate property for long-term investment and were deemed VIEs primarily based on the fact that the equity investment at risk was not sufficient to permit the entities to finance their activities without additional financial support. The initial equity contributed to these entities was not sufficient to fully finance the real estate construction as development costs are funded by the partners throughout the construction period. The Company determined that it was not the primary beneficiary of these VIEs based on the fact that the Company has shared control of these entities along with the entity’s partners and therefore does not have controlling financial interests in these VIEs. The Company’s aggregate investment in these VIEs was approximately $109.0 million as of December 31, 2020. The Company’s maximum exposure to loss as a result of its involvement with these VIEs is estimated to be approximately $142.2 million, which includes the Company’s current investment and estimated future funding commitments/guarantees of approximately $33.2 million. The Company has not provided financial support to these VIEs that it was not previously contractually required to provide. In general, future costs of development not financed through third parties will be funded with capital contributions from the Company and its outside partners in accordance with their respective ownership percentages.   

The following is a summary of the Company's unconsolidated joint ventures as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 (dollars in thousands):

Property Debt

Number of

Company's

Carrying Value

As of December 31, 2020

Apartment Units

Effective

December 31,

December 31,

Maturity

Interest

Entity / Property Name

or Rentable SF

Ownership % (a)

2020

2019

Balance

Date

Rate

Multi-family

Metropolitan and Lofts at
40 Park (b) (c)

189 

units

25.00 

%

$

3,347

$

7,257 

$

60,767 

(d)

(d)

RiverTrace at Port Imperial

316 

units

22.50 

%

6,667

7,463 

82,000 

11/10/26

3.21 

%

Crystal House (e)

825 

units

25.00 

%

-

28,823 

-

-

-

PI North - Riverwalk C (f)

360 

units

40.00 

%

36,992

35,527 

75,569

12/06/21

L+2.75

%

Riverpark at Harrison (g)

141 

units

45.00 

%

681

1,015 

30,192 

07/01/35

3.19 

%

Station House

378 

units

50.00 

%

34,026

35,676 

95,137

07/01/33

4.82 

%

Urby at Harborside (h)

762 

units

85.00 

%

72,752

79,790 

192,000 

08/01/29

5.197 

%

PI North - Land (b) (i)

771

potential units

20.00 

%

1,678

1,678 

-

-

-

Liberty Landing

850 

potential units

50.00 

%

337

337 

-

-

-

Hillsborough 206 (m)

160,000 

sf

50.00 

%

-

1,962 

-

-

-

Office

12 Vreeland Road

139,750 

sf

50.00 

%

1,811

(j)

3,846 

(j)

4,582

07/01/23

2.87 

%

Offices at Crystal Lake

106,345 

sf

31.25 

%

3,744

3,521 

2,532

11/01/23

4.76 

%

Other

Riverwalk Retail (k)

30,745 

sf

20.00 

%

-

1,467 

-

-

-

Hyatt Regency Hotel Jersey City

351 

rooms

50.00 

%

-

-

100,000 

10/01/26

3.668 

%

Other (l)

347

729 

-

-

-

Totals:

$

162,382

$

209,091 

$

642,779

(a)

Company's effective ownership % represents the Company's entitlement to residual distributions after payments of priority returns, where applicable.

(b)

The Company's ownership interests in this venture are subordinate to its partner's preferred capital balance and the Company is not expected to meaningfully participate in the venture's cash flows in the near term.

(c)

Through the joint venture, the Company also owns a 25 percent interest in a 50,973 square feet retail building ("Shops at 40 Park") and a 50 percent interest in a 59-unit, five story multi-family rental property ("Lofts at 40 Park").

(d)

Property debt balance consists of: (i) an interest only loan, collateralized by the Metropolitan at 40 Park, refinanced on September 18, 2020, with a balance of $36,500, bears interest at LIBOR +2.85 percent, matures in October 2023; (ii) an amortizable loan, collateralized by the Shops at 40 Park, with a balance of $6,067, bears interest at LIBOR +1.5 percent and matures in October 2021; (iii) an interest only loan, collateralized by the Lofts at 40 Park, with a balance of $18,200, which bears interest at LIBOR +1.5 percent and matures in January 2023.

(e)

On December 31, 2020, the Crystal House Apartment Investors LLC, an unconsolidated joint venture property sold its sole apartment property and the Company recorded a gain of $35.1 million. See Note 3: Recent Transactions - Unconsolidated Joint Venture.

(f)

The venture has a construction loan with a maximum borrowing amount of $112,000, of which the Company has guaranteed 10 percent of the principal outstanding.

(g)

On June 10, 2020, the loan was refinanced with a borrowing amount of $30,192.

(h)

The Company owns an 85 percent interest with shared control over major decisions such as, approval of budgets, property financings and leasing guidelines. The Company has guaranteed $22 million of the principal outstanding debt.

(i)

The Company owns a 20 percent residual interest in undeveloped land parcels: parcels 6, I, and J that can accommodate the development of 771 apartment units.

(j)

At December 31, 2019, the Company evaluated the recoverability of the carrying value of certain investments in unconsolidated joint venture, being considered for sale in the short or medium term. The Company determined that due to tenant turnover, lease-up assumptions, along with the Company's plans to exit its investment, it was necessary to reduce the carrying value of the investment to its estimated fair value. Accordingly, the Company recorded an impairment charge of $2.6 million and $3.7 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(k)

On March 12, 2020, the Company acquired its equity partner's 80 percent interest and increased ownership to 100 percent. See Note 3: Recent Transactions - Consolidation.

(l)

The Company owns other interests in various unconsolidated joint ventures, including interests in assets previously owned and interest in ventures whose businesses are related to its core operations. These ventures are not expected to significantly impact the Company's operations in the near term. 

(m)

On December 17, 2020, the Company sold its interest in the joint venture for a sale price of $2.1 million and recorded a gain of $0.1 million.

 

The following is a summary of the Company’s equity in earnings (loss) of unconsolidated joint ventures for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019 and 2018 (dollars in thousands):

Year Ended December 31,

Entity / Property Name

2020

2019

2018

Multi-family

Marbella

$

-

$

-

$

205 

Metropolitan at 40 Park

(1,010)

(422)

(455)

RiverTrace at Port Imperial

111 

317 

154 

Crystal House

(924)

(687)

(874)

PI North - Riverwalk C / Land

(368)

(279)

(126)

Marbella II (b)

-

(15)

35 

Riverpark at Harrison

(273)

(172)

(232)

Station House

(1,650)

(2,000)

(2,096)

Urby at Harborside

1,095 

(c)

1,587 

(c)

(975)

(c)

Liberty Landing

(5)

-

(5)

Hillsborough 206

-

-

16 

Office

Red Bank (d)

-

8 

(215)

12 Vreeland Road

(2,035)

(3,172)

285 

Offices at Crystal Lake

224 

79 

73 

Other

Riverwalk Retail (e)

(10)

(72)

(86)

Hyatt Regency Hotel Jersey City

625 

3,388 

3,672 

Other

388

121 

497 

Company's equity in earnings (loss) of unconsolidated joint ventures (a)

$

(3,832)

$

(1,319)

$

(127)

 

(a)

Amounts are net of amortization of basis differences of $581 and $638 for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

(b)

On January 31, 2019, the Company acquired one of its equity partner's 50 percent interest and as a result, increased its ownership from 24.27 percent subordinated interest to 74.27 percent controlling interest, and ceased applying the equity method of accounting at such time.

(c)

Includes $2.6 million of the Company's share of the venture's income from its sale of an economic urban tax credit certificate from the State of New Jersey to a third party. The venture has an agreement to sell tax credits to a third party over the next seven years for $3 million per year for a total of $21 million. The sales are subject to the venture obtaining the tax credits from the State of New Jersey each year and transferring the tax credit certificate to the buyer each year.

(d)

On February 28, 2019, the Company sold its 50 percent interest to its partner and realized a gain of $0.9 million.

(e)

On March 12, 2020, the Company acquired its equity partner's 80 percent interest and increased ownership to 100 percent. See Note 3: Recent Transactions - Consolidation.