Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Significant Accounting Policies

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Significant Accounting Policies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]  
Significant Accounting Policies 2.    SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as certain disclosures in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that would duplicate those included in the 10-K are not included in these financial statements.

Rental Property

Rental properties are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Costs directly related to the acquisition, development and construction of rental properties are capitalized. The Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017-01 on January 1, 2017, which revises the definition of a business and is expected to result in more transactions to be accounted for as asset acquisitions and significantly limit transactions that would be accounted for as business combinations. Where an acquisition has been determined to be an asset acquisition, acquisition-related costs are capitalized. Capitalized development and construction costs include pre-construction costs essential to the development of the property, development and construction costs, interest, property taxes, insurance, salaries and other project costs incurred during the period of development. Capitalized development and construction salaries and related costs approximated $0.6 million and $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Ordinary repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred; major replacements and betterments, which improve or extend the life of the asset, are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Fully-depreciated assets are removed from the accounts.  

Included in net investment in rental property as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 is real estate and building and tenant improvements not in service, as follows (dollars in thousands):

March 31,

December 31,

2021

2020

Land held for development (including pre-development costs, if any) (a)(c)

$

360,930

$

364,946

Development and construction in progress, including land (b)

766,978

733,560

Total

$

1,127,908

$

1,098,506

(a)Includes predevelopment and infrastructure costs included in buildings and improvements of $160.3 million and $160.3 million as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

(b)Includes land of $74.4 million and $74.9 million as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

(c)Includes $27.9 million of land and $6.5 million of building and improvements pertaining to assets held for sale at March 31, 2021.

The Company considers a construction project as substantially completed and held available for occupancy upon the substantial completion of improvements, but no later than one year from cessation of major construction activity (as distinguished from activities such as routine maintenance and cleanup). If portions of a rental project are substantially completed and occupied by tenants or residents, or held available for occupancy, and other portions have not yet reached that stage, the substantially completed portions are accounted for as a separate project. The Company allocates costs incurred between the portions under construction and the portions substantially

completed and held available for occupancy, primarily based on a percentage of the relative commercial square footage or multi-family units of each portion, and capitalizes only those costs associated with the portion under construction.

Dividends and Distributions Payable

On September 30, 2020, the Company announced that its Board of Directors was suspending its common dividends and distributions attributable to the third and fourth quarters 2020.   As the Company’s management estimated that as of September 2020 it had satisfied its dividends obligations as a REIT on taxable income expected for 2020, the Board made the strategic decision to suspend its common dividends and distributions for the remainder of 2020 in an effort to provide greater financial flexibility during the pandemic and to retain incremental capital to support leasing initiatives at its Harborside commercial office properties on the Jersey City waterfront. On March 19, 2021, the Company announced that its Board of Directors would continue to suspend its common dividend for the remainder of 2021 in order to conserve capital and allow for greater financial flexibility during this period of heightened economic uncertainty and based on the Company’s projected 2021 taxable income estimates. The Company believes that with this suspension, it will still satisfy its dividends obligation as a REIT on taxable income estimated for 2021.

The dividends and distributions payable at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 represent amounts payable on unvested LTIP units.

Impact of Recently-Issued Accounting Standards

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04 Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The amendments provide practical expedients for reference rate reform related activities that impact debt, leases, derivatives and other contracts. The guidance is optional and is effective between March 12, 2020 and December 31, 2022. The guidance may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact the adoption of ASU 2020-04 will have on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 
Mack-Cali Realty LP [Member]  
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]  
Significant Accounting Policies 2.    SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as certain disclosures in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that would duplicate those included in the 10-K are not included in these financial statements.

Rental Property

Rental properties are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Costs directly related to the acquisition, development and construction of rental properties are capitalized. The Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) guidance Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2017-01 on January 1, 2017, which revises the definition of a business and is expected to result in more transactions to be accounted for as asset acquisitions and significantly limit transactions that would be accounted for as business combinations. Where an acquisition has been determined to be an asset acquisition, acquisition-related costs are capitalized. Capitalized development and construction costs include pre-construction costs essential to the development of the property, development and construction costs, interest, property taxes, insurance, salaries and other project costs incurred during the period of development. Capitalized development and construction salaries and related costs approximated $0.6 million and $0.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Ordinary repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred; major replacements and betterments, which improve or extend the life of the asset, are capitalized and depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Fully-depreciated assets are removed from the accounts.  

Included in net investment in rental property as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 is real estate and building and tenant improvements not in service, as follows (dollars in thousands):

March 31,

December 31,

2021

2020

Land held for development (including pre-development costs, if any) (a)(c)

$

360,930

$

364,946

Development and construction in progress, including land (b)

766,978

733,560

Total

$

1,127,908

$

1,098,506

(a)Includes predevelopment and infrastructure costs included in buildings and improvements of $160.3 million and $160.3 million as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

(b)Includes land of $74.4 million and $74.9 million as of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively.

(c)Includes $27.9 million of land and $6.5 million of building and improvements pertaining to assets held for sale at March 31, 2021.

The Company considers a construction project as substantially completed and held available for occupancy upon the substantial completion of improvements, but no later than one year from cessation of major construction activity (as distinguished from activities such as routine maintenance and cleanup). If portions of a rental project are substantially completed and occupied by tenants or residents, or held available for occupancy, and other portions have not yet reached that stage, the substantially completed portions are accounted for as a separate project. The Company allocates costs incurred between the portions under construction and the portions substantially

completed and held available for occupancy, primarily based on a percentage of the relative commercial square footage or multi-family units of each portion, and capitalizes only those costs associated with the portion under construction.

Dividends and Distributions Payable

On September 30, 2020, the Company announced that its Board of Directors was suspending its common dividends and distributions attributable to the third and fourth quarters 2020.   As the Company’s management estimated that as of September 2020 it had satisfied its dividends obligations as a REIT on taxable income expected for 2020, the Board made the strategic decision to suspend its common dividends and distributions for the remainder of 2020 in an effort to provide greater financial flexibility during the pandemic and to retain incremental capital to support leasing initiatives at its Harborside commercial office properties on the Jersey City waterfront. On March 19, 2021, the Company announced that its Board of Directors would continue to suspend its common dividend for the remainder of 2021 in order to conserve capital and allow for greater financial flexibility during this period of heightened economic uncertainty and based on the Company’s projected 2021 taxable income estimates. The Company believes that with this suspension, it will still satisfy its dividends obligation as a REIT on taxable income estimated for 2021.

The dividends and distributions payable at March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020 represent amounts payable on unvested LTIP units.

Impact of Recently-Issued Accounting Standards

In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04 Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848) Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting. The amendments provide practical expedients for reference rate reform related activities that impact debt, leases, derivatives and other contracts. The guidance is optional and is effective between March 12, 2020 and December 31, 2022. The guidance may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur. The Company is currently in the process of evaluating the impact the adoption of ASU 2020-04 will have on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.