COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

There are various legal actions against us in the ordinary course of business. After consultation with legal counsel, the outcome of such matters will not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.

Redevelopment

As of March 31, 2020, we had approximately $52.8 million of active development, redevelopment and anchor repositioning projects under way, of which $16.0 million remains to be funded. Further, while we have approximately $300 million of projects in our development pipeline, we are under no obligation to execute and fund any of these projects and each of these projects is being reevaluated considering market conditions. The Company has updated many of its active project stabilization dates to reflect the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on its contractors, tenants and vendors.

Insurance 

The Company maintains (i) general liability insurance with limits of $200 million for properties in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, (ii) all-risk property insurance with limits of $500 million per occurrence and in the aggregate for properties in the U.S. and $147 million for properties in Puerto Rico, subject to the terms, conditions, exclusions, deductibles and sub-limits when applicable for certain perils such as floods and earthquakes, (iii) pollution insurance with limits of $50 million for properties in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and (iv) numerous other insurance policies including trustees’ and officers’ insurance, cyber, workers’ compensation and automobile-related liabilities insurance. The Company’s insurance includes coverage for acts of terrorism but excludes coverage for nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological terrorism events as defined by the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act, which expires in December 2020. The Company’s coverage for certain cybersecurity losses provides first and third-party coverage including network interruption, event management, cyber extortion and claims for media content, security and privacy liability.

The Company’s coverage for pollution related losses provides certain remediation and business interruption coverage for specified pollution incidents, which includes the presence of viruses. The Company has filed insurance claims related to COVID-19 and is pursuing available coverage.

Insurance premiums are typically charged directly to each of the retail properties and warehouses but not all of the cost of such premiums are recovered. The Company is responsible for deductibles, losses in excess of insurance coverage, and the portion of premiums not reimbursable by tenants at our properties, which could be material.

We continue to monitor the state of the insurance market and the scope and costs of available coverage. We cannot anticipate what coverage will be available on commercially reasonable terms in the future and expect premiums across most coverage lines to increase in light of recent events. The incurrence of uninsured losses, costs or uncovered premiums could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Certain of our loans and other agreements contain customary covenants requiring the maintenance of insurance coverage. Although we believe that we currently have adequate insurance coverage for purposes of these agreements, we may not be able to obtain an equivalent amount of coverage at reasonable costs in the future. If lenders or other counterparties insist on greater coverage than we are able to obtain, such requirement could materially and adversely affect our ability to finance our properties and expand our portfolio.

Environmental Matters

Each of our properties has been subjected to varying degrees of environmental assessment at various times. Based on these assessments, we have accrued costs of $1.0 million and $2.7 million on our consolidated balance sheets as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, for remediation costs for environmental contamination at certain properties. While this accrual reflects our best estimates of the potential costs of remediation at these properties, there can be no assurance that the actual costs will not exceed these amounts. Although we are not aware of any other material environmental contamination, there can be no assurance that the identification of new areas of contamination, changes in the extent or known scope of contamination, the discovery of additional sites, or changes in cleanup requirements would not result in significant costs to us.

Bankruptcies

Although our rental revenue is supported by long-term leases, leases may be rejected in a bankruptcy proceeding and the related tenant stores may permanently vacate prior to lease expiration. In the event a tenant with a significant number of leases or square footage in our shopping centers files for bankruptcy and rejects its leases with us, we could experience a reduction in our revenues. We monitor the operating performance and rent collections of all tenants in our shopping centers, especially those tenants in arrears or operating retail formats that are experiencing significant changes in competition, business practice, or store closings in other locations.

Pandemic-Related Contingencies

On January 30, 2020, the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern by the World Health Organization ("WHO"). On March 11, 2020, WHO characterized the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. During and subsequent to the first quarter, the continually evolving COVID-19 pandemic impacted our tenants and business operations. The Company has taken precautions to protect the safety, health and well-being of its employees and tenants.

As a result of the Company’s concentrated operations in the New York metropolitan area, the extent and magnitude of the pandemic’s impact to our operations is heightened. As of April 27, 2020, 55% of our portfolio's gross leasable area remains open for business and the Company received approximately 56% of April rental revenue billed, totaling $15.8 million. The Company currently remains in active discussions and negotiations with its impacted tenants and anticipates the need to grant rent concessions or other lease-related relief, such as the deferral of lease payments for a period of time to be paid over the remaining term of the lease. The nature and financial impact of such rent relief is currently unknown as negotiations are in progress.

The Company is not currently aware of any loss contingencies related to this matter that would require recognition at this time.