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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
Commitments and Contingencies

General

As of December 31, 2015, we had commitments of approximately $430.1 million, excluding our ground lease commitments, for contracts and executed leases directly related to our operating and development properties.

Ground Leases

The following table summarizes our properties that are held subject to long-term noncancellable ground lease obligations and the respective contractual expiration dates:

Property
Contractual Expiration Date (1)
601 108th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA
November 2093
701, 801 and 837 N. 34th Street, Seattle, WA (2)
December 2041
Kilroy Airport Center Phases I, II, and III, Long Beach, CA
July 2084
____________________
(1)
Reflects the contractual expiration date prior to the impact of any extension or purchase options held by the Company.
(2)
The Company has three 10 year and one 45 year extension options for this ground lease, which if exercised would extend the expiration date to December 2116.

The minimum commitment under our ground leases as of December 31, 2015 for five years and thereafter is as follows:

Year Ending
(in thousands)
2016
$
3,144

2017
3,144

2018
3,144

2019
3,144

2020
3,144

Thereafter
151,738

Total (1)(2)(3)(4)
$
167,458

________________________
(1)
Reflects the minimum ground lease obligations before the impact of ground lease extension options.
(2)
One of our ground lease obligations is subject to a fair market value adjustment every five years; however, the lease includes ground rent subprotection and infrastructure rent credits which currently limit our annual rental obligations to $1.0 million. The contractual obligations for that ground lease included above assumes the lesser of $1.0 million or annual lease rental obligation in effect as of December 31, 2015.
(3)
One of our ground lease obligations includes a component which is based on the percentage of gross income that exceeds the minimum ground rent. The minimum rent is subject to increases every five years based on 50% of the average annual percentage rent for the previous five years. Currently, gross income does not exceed the threshold requiring us to pay percentage rent. The contractual obligations for that ground lease included above assume the annual lease rental obligation in effect as of December 31, 2015.
(4)
One of our ground lease obligations is subject to a fair market value adjustment every five years based on a combination of CPI adjustments and third-party appraisals limited to maximum increases annually. The contractual obligations included above assume the annual lease rental obligation in effect as of December 31, 2015.

Environmental Matters

We follow the policy of monitoring all of our properties, both acquisition and existing properties, for the presence of hazardous or toxic substances. While there can be no assurance that a material environmental liability does not exist,
we are not currently aware of any environmental liabilities with respect to our stabilized portfolio properties that would have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow, or that we believe would require additional disclosure or the recording of a loss contingency.

As of December 31, 2015 and 2014, we had accrued environmental remediation liabilities of approximately $20.9 million and $15.5 million, respectively, recorded on our consolidated balance sheets in connection with certain of our development acquisitions and related development activities. The accrued environmental remediation liabilities represent the costs we estimate we will incur when we commence development at various development acquisition sites. These estimates, which we developed with the assistance of a third party expert, consist primarily of the removal of contaminated soil and other related costs since we are required to dispose of any existing contaminated soil when we develop new office properties at these sites.

We record estimated environmental remediation obligations for acquisitions at the acquisition date when we are aware of such costs and when such costs are probable and reasonably estimable. Costs incurred in connection with development related environmental remediation liabilities are recorded as an increase to the cost of the development project. These accruals are adjusted as an increase or decrease to the development project costs and as an increase or decrease to the accrued environmental remediation liability if we obtain further information or circumstances change. The environmental remediation obligations recorded at December 31, 2015 and 2014 were not discounted to their present value since we expect to complete the remediation activities in the next one to five years in connection with development activities at the various sites. It is possible that we could incur additional environmental remediation costs in connection with these recent development acquisitions.  However, given we are in the very early stages of development, possible additional environmental costs are not reasonably estimable at this time. 

Other than the accrued environmental liabilities recorded in connection with certain of our recent development acquisitions and related development activities, we are not aware of any unasserted claims and assessments with respect to an environmental liability that we believe would require additional disclosure or the recording of an additional loss contingency.

Litigation

We and our properties are subject to litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. To our knowledge, neither we nor any of our properties are presently subject to any litigation or threat of litigation which, if determined unfavorably to us, would have a material adverse effect on our cash flow, financial condition, or results of operations.

Insurance

We maintain commercial general liability, auto liability, employers liability, umbrella/excess liability, special form property, difference in conditions including earthquake and flood, environmental, rental loss, and terrorism insurance covering all of our properties. Management believes the policy specifications and insured limits are reasonable given the relative risk of loss, the cost of the coverage, and industry practice. We do not carry insurance for generally uninsurable losses such as loss from governmental action, nuclear hazard, and war and military action. Policies are subject to various terms, conditions, and exclusions and some policies may involve large deductibles or co-payments.

2013 Property Damage Settlement

During the year ended December 31, 2013, we settled an outstanding matter related to property damage at one of our properties. In connection with this settlement, we received cash payments of $5.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2013 and recognized this amount in other property income.

2013 Settlement with Prior Tenants

During the year ended December 31, 2013, we settled an outstanding matter with a prior tenant at one of the properties disposed of in December 2012. In connection with this settlement, we received a net cash payment of $3.7 million, which is included in income from discontinued operations in our consolidated statements of operations in 2013.