Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

16. Commitments and Contingencies

Litigation

The Company is involved in litigation on a number of matters and is subject to certain claims, which arise in the normal course of business, none of which, in the opinion of management, is expected to have a material adverse effect on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations, or liquidity. Legal fees are expensed as incurred.

Environmental

The Company is subject to numerous environmental laws and regulations pertaining primarily to chemicals used by the dry cleaning industry, the existence of asbestos in older shopping centers, and underground petroleum storage tanks.  The Company believes that the ultimate disposition of currently known environmental matters will not have a material effect on its financial position, liquidity, or operations. The Company can give no assurance that existing environmental studies with respect to the shopping centers have revealed all potential environmental contaminants or liabilities; that any previous owner, occupant or tenant did not create any material environmental condition not known to it, that the current environmental condition of the shopping centers will not be affected by tenants and occupants, by the condition of nearby properties, or by unrelated third parties, or that changes in applicable environmental laws and regulations or their interpretation will not result in additional material environmental liability to the Company.

Letters of Credit

The Company has the right to issue letters of credit under the Line up to an amount not to exceed $50.0 million, which reduces the credit availability under the Line. These letters of credit are primarily issued as collateral on behalf of its captive insurance program and to facilitate the construction of development projects. As of December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company had $12.5 million and $9.4 million, respectively, in letters of credit outstanding.

Purchase Commitments

The Company enters purchase and sale agreements to buy or sell real estate assets in the normal course of business, which generally provide limited recourse if either party ends the contract. At December 31, 2019, the Company had a commitment to purchase an additional 16.62% ownership interest in the Town and Country shopping center, bringing our ownership interest to 35%.  We closed on the purchase in January 2020 for $18.1 million.