Impairment Charges

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Impairment Charges

Impairment Charges

An asset is impaired when undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset are less than the carrying value of the asset. The Company must assess the potential for impairment of its long-lived assets, including real estate properties, whenever events occur or there is a change in circumstances, such as the sale of a property or the decision to sell a property, that indicate that the recorded value might not be fully recoverable.

The Company recorded impairment charges on properties sold or classified as held for sale, which are included in discontinued operations, for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 totaling $12.0 million, $9.9 million and $14.9 million, respectively. Both level 1 and level 3 fair value techniques were used to derive these impairment charges. These impairment charges are discussed in more detail in Note 4.