Property, Plant and Equipment and Leasehold Intangibles, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Property, Plant and Equipment and Leasehold Intangibles, Net [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment and Leasehold Intangibles, Net

6.       Property, Plant and Equipment and Leasehold Intangibles, Net

As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, net property, plant and equipment and leasehold intangibles, which include assets under capital and financing leases, consisted of the following (in thousands):

	2015			2014
Land	$	486,567		$	475,485
Buildings and improvements		5,260,826			5,017,991
Leasehold improvements		100,430			56,515
Furniture and equipment		895,447			735,837
Resident and leasehold operating intangibles		783,434			852,746
Construction in progress		138,054			99,408
Assets under capital and financing leases		2,909,653			3,057,516
		10,574,411			10,295,498
Accumulated depreciation and amortization		(2,543,035	)		(1,905,993	)
Property, plant and equipment and leasehold intangibles, net	$	8,031,376		$	8,389,505

During the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Company evaluated property, plant and equipment and leasehold intangibles for impairment and identified properties with a carrying amount of the assets in excess of the estimated future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the assets. The Company compared the estimated fair value of the assets to their carrying value for these identified properties and recorded an impairment charge for the excess of carrying value over fair value. The Company recorded property, plant and equipment and leasehold intangibles non-cash impairment charges in its operating results of $24.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2015, primarily within the Assisted Living and CCRCs - Rental segments, $10.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2014, primarily within the CCRCs - Rental and Assisted Living segments and $12.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2013, primarily within the Retirement Centers and Assisted Living segments. These impairment charges are primarily due to lower than expected operating performance at these properties and reflect the amount by which the carrying values of the assets exceeded their estimated fair value.

During 2015, the Company sold 17 communities for an aggregate selling price of $82.9 million and recorded $18.4 million of impairment charges related to the communities sold, inclusive of the allocation of $8.1 million of goodwill to the disposed communities. During the fourth quarter of 2015, the Company recorded $15.2 million of impairment charges related to 17 communities identified as held for sale as of December 31, 2015, inclusive of the allocation of $12.2 million of goodwill to the disposal groups. These impairment charges are primarily due to the excess of carrying value, including allocated goodwill, over the estimated selling price less costs to dispose. Refer to Note 4 for more information about the Company's community dispositions and assets held for sale.

For the years ended December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, the Company recognized depreciation and amortization expense on its property, plant and equipment and leasehold intangibles of $721.0 million, $529.1 million and $264.1 million, respectively.

Future amortization expense for resident and leasehold operating intangibles is estimated to be as follows (dollars in thousands):

Year Ending December 31,	Future Amortization
2016	$	19,390
2017		13,011
2018		7,603
2019		6,247
2020		4,345
Thereafter		12,663
Total	$	63,259

In connection with the acquisition of Emeritus, the Company recorded intangible assets for resident-in-place leases and below market operating lease intangibles. The Company is amortizing the resident-in-place leases and below market operating lease intangibles over their estimated weighted average useful lives of one and nine years, respectively.