Rexford Industrial Realty (REXR) 10-K2020 FY Annual report

We make statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are forward-looking statements, which are usually identified by the use of words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plans,” “potential,” “possible,” “predicts,” “projects,” “result,” “seeks,” “should,” “will,” and variations of such words or similar expressions. Our forward-looking statements reflect our current views about our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects, which are based on the information currently available to us and on assumptions we have made. Although we believe that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies and prospects as reflected in or suggested by our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that our plans, intentions, expectations, strategies or prospects will be attained or achieved and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, actual results may differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements and may be affected by a variety of risks and factors including, without limitation:

References to “we,” “our,” “us,” “our company,” or “the Company” refer to Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc., a Maryland corporation, together with our consolidated subsidiaries (unless the context requires otherwise), including Rexford Industrial Realty, L.P., a Maryland limited partnership, of which we are the sole general partner and which we refer to in this report as our Operating Partnership. In statements regarding qualification as a REIT, such terms refer solely to Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc.

We are a self-administered and self-managed full-service REIT focused on owning, operating and acquiring industrial properties in Southern California infill markets. Our goal is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders by providing superior access to industrial property investments in Southern California infill markets.

Our primary business objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders through dividends and capital appreciation. We believe that pursuing the following strategies will enable us to achieve this objective:

We employ an intensive asset management strategy that is designed to increase cash flow and occupancy from our properties. Our strategy includes proactive renewal of existing tenants, re-tenanting to achieve higher rents, and repositioning industrial property by renovating, modernizing or increasing functionality to increase cash flow and value. For example, we sometimes convert formerly single-tenant properties to multi-tenant occupancy to capitalize upon the higher per square foot rents generated by smaller spaces in our target markets in addition to adding or improving loading access and increasing fire, life-safety and building operating systems, among other value-add initiatives. We believe that by undertaking such conversions or other functional enhancements, we can position our properties to attract a larger universe of potential tenants, increase occupancy, tenant quality and rental rates. We also believe that multi-tenant properties, as well as single mid-size buildings, help to limit our exposure to tenant default risk and to diversify our sources of cash flow.  Additionally, our proactive approach to leasing and asset management is driven by our in-house leasing department and team of portfolio and property managers who maintain direct, day-to-day relationships and dialogue with our tenants, which we believe enhances recurring cash flow and reduces periods of vacancy.

We continue to grow our portfolio through disciplined acquisitions in prime Southern California infill markets. We believe that our relationship-, data- and event-driven research allows us to identify and exploit asset mispricing and market inefficiencies.  We seek to acquire assets with value-add opportunities to increase their cash flow and asset values, often targeting off-market or lightly marketed transactions where our execution abilities and market credibility encourage owners to sell assets to us at what we consider pricing that is more favorable than heavily marketed transactions. We also seek to source transactions from owners with generational ownership shift, fund divestment, sale-leaseback/corporate surplus, maturing loans, some facing liquidity needs or financial stress, including loans that lack economical refinancing options. We also believe our deep market presence and relationships may enable us to selectively acquire assets in marketed transactions that may be difficult to access for less focused buyers.

We believe that our investment strategy and operating model distinguishes us from other owners, operators and acquirers of industrial real estate in several important ways, including the following:

In acquiring our target properties, we compete with other public industrial property sector REITs, income oriented non-traded REITs, private real estate fund managers and local real estate investors and developers, some of which have greater financial resources or other competitive advantages than we do. Such competition may result in an increase in the amount we must pay to acquire a property or may require us to forgo an investment in properties which would otherwise meet our investment criteria. We also face significant competition in leasing available properties to prospective tenants and in re-leasing space to existing tenants. As a result, we may have to provide rent concessions, incur expenses for tenant improvements or offer other inducements to enable us to timely lease vacant space, all of which may have an adverse impact on our results of operations.

We carry commercial property, liability, environmental, earthquake and terrorism coverage on all the properties in our portfolio under blanket insurance policies. In addition, we hold other environmental policies for certain properties with known environmental conditions that provide for additional coverage for potential environmental liabilities, subject to the policy’s coverage conditions and limitations. Generally, we do not carry insurance for certain types of extraordinary losses, including, but not limited to, losses caused by floods (unless the property is located in a flood plain), riots, war and wildfires. Substantially all of our properties are located in areas that are subject to earthquakes, and while we maintain earthquake insurance coverage, the events are subject to material deductibles and exclusions. Additionally, seismic risks are evaluated for properties during acquisition by a qualified structural engineer and to the extent that the engineer identifies a property with weaknesses that contribute to a high statistical risk, the property will generally be structurally retrofitted to reduce the statistical risk to an acceptable level.

Our properties are subject to various laws, ordinances and regulations, including regulations relating to common areas and fire and safety requirements. We believe that we have the necessary permits and approvals to operate each of our properties.

Our properties must comply with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (the “ADA”) to the extent that such properties are “public accommodations” as defined under the ADA. Under the ADA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. The ADA may require removal of structural barriers to access by persons with disabilities in certain public areas of our properties where such removal is readily achievable. Although we believe that the properties in our portfolio in the aggregate substantially comply with present requirements of the ADA, and we have not received any notice for correction from any regulatory agency, we have not conducted a comprehensive audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine whether we are in compliance, and therefore we may own properties that are not in compliance with current ADA standards.

ADA compliance is dependent upon the tenant’s specific use of the property, and as the use of a property changes or improvements to existing spaces are made, we will take steps to ensure compliance. Noncompliance with the ADA could result in additional costs to attain compliance, imposition of fines by the U.S. government or an award of damages plus attorney’s fees to private litigants. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations is an ongoing one, and we will continue to assess our properties and make alterations to achieve compliance as deemed commercially reasonable.

The properties that we acquire are subject to various federal, state and local environmental laws. Under these laws, courts and government agencies have the authority to require us, to the extent we own a contaminated property, to clean up the property, even if we did not know of or were not responsible for the contamination. These laws also apply to persons who owned a property at the time it became contaminated and, therefore, it is possible we could incur these costs even after we sell some of the properties we acquire. In addition to the costs of cleanup, environmental contamination can affect the value of a property and, therefore, an owner’s ability to borrow using the property as collateral or to sell the property. From time to time we are required to export soils (which may or may not contain hazardous materials) from our sites, and under applicable environmental laws, courts and government agencies also have the authority to require that a person who sent waste to a waste disposal facility, such as a landfill or an incinerator, pay for the clean-up of that facility if it becomes contaminated and threatens human health or the environment.

Furthermore, various court decisions have established that third parties may recover damages for injury caused by property contamination. For instance, a person exposed to asbestos at a property may seek to recover damages if he or she suffers injury from the asbestos. Lastly, some of these environmental laws restrict the use of a property or place conditions on various activities. An example would be laws that require a business using chemicals to manage them carefully and to notify local officials that the chemicals are being used.

We could be responsible for any of the costs discussed above, which have the potential to be very significant. The costs to clean up a contaminated property, to defend against a claim or to comply with environmental laws could be material and could adversely affect the funds available for distribution to our stockholders. To mitigate some of the environmental risk, our properties are covered by a blanket environmental insurance policy. In addition, we hold other environmental policies for certain properties with known environmental conditions that provide for additional coverage for potential environmental liabilities. These policies, however, are subject to certain limits, deductibles and exclusions, and insurance may not fully compensate us for any environmental liability. We obtain Phase I or similar environmental assessments by independent environmental consultants at the time of acquisition of a property. Phase I environmental investigations are a common form of real estate due diligence that are governed by nationally recognized American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards and typically conducted by licensed environmental scientists. Phase I investigations commonly include a physical walk-through of the property in addition to a file review of the site. The file review includes creating a known operating history of the site. This includes, but is not limited to, inquiries with local governmental agencies as well as reviewing historical aerial reviews. If the consultant identifies any unexplained Recognized Environmental Concerns (“REC”) then the consultant typically recommends further investigation, usually through specific invasive property tests. This additional round of investigation is commonly referred to as a “Phase II”. Invasive testing may or may not include air, soil, soil vapor or ground water sampling. Additionally, it may or may not include an asbestos and/or lead-based paint survey. Depending on the results of the initial Phase II investigation, the consultant may recommend further Phase II investigations, or if satisfied with the results, the consultant may decide the initial REC identified is no longer a concern. Although we obtain a Phase I, a Phase II as recommended, or similar environmental site assessments by independent environmental consultants on each property prior to acquiring it, these environmental assessments may not reveal all environmental risks that might have a materially adverse economic effect on our business, assets and results of operations or liquidity, and may not identify all potential environmental liabilities, and our portfolio environmental and any site-specific insurance policies may be insufficient to cover any such environmental costs and liabilities.

We can make no assurances that (1) future laws, ordinances or regulations will not impose material environmental liabilities on us, or (2) the current environmental condition of our properties will not be affected by tenants, the condition of land or operations in the vicinity of our properties (such as releases from underground storage tanks), or by third parties unrelated to us.

As of December 31, 2020, we had 147 employees located in six regional offices within our Southern California market to service our business and tenants, optimize the welfare and productivity of our staff, and minimize commute times for our staff and to our properties. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all employees were working remotely to comply with state and local orders. We believe that we have good relations with our employees. None of our employees are represented by a union. We have adopted a Code of Business Ethics, and Conduct, and Policies and Procedures for Complaints Regarding Accounting and Fraud, including a phone number and website for employees to voice anonymous concerns. All such concerns are then brought to the attention of our independent audit committee of the board of directors and our general counsel. These policies apply to all of our employees, and receipt and review by each employee is documented and verified annually.

We believe employee engagement and recognition of strong performance are key components of a strong corporate culture. As part of our ongoing efforts to encourage employee engagement, we conducted five engagement surveys and held teambuilding events (which were conducted on a virtual basis in light of the COVID-19 pandemic) in 2020, and employees received formal recognition awards during our all-company quarterly meetings after being nominated by their peers. Each employee undergoes performance discussions at least once per year, with annual compensation adjustment consideration commensurate with the market and individual performance. Our voluntary turnover rate was 7% in 2020. Our referral rate for new hires is 20%, which we believe is indicative of employee engagement and commitment.

We offer and encourage ongoing employee training and advancement opportunities, with a wide variety of thousands of courses and topics including management, leadership, personal development, diversity and inclusion, sexual harassment prevention, health and safety, and technical skills development. Many of our employees have contributed to the creation of learning content, leveraging our employee expertise and engagement and promoting a culture of learning. On average, each

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company had a detailed business continuity plan in place. When statewide work-from home orders were implemented, the Company’s detailed business continuity plan was activated. Our employees were able to begin working remotely immediately, with home office equipment cost reimbursement, internet and online learning access for the entire workforce, and mental health assistance. Additionally, we made available to all employees with children a childcare stipend of $1,000 for each employee, as well as a tutoring stipend of $1,500, to assist employees balancing remote working and schooling needs.

The Company values diversity, including diversity of experience, background, and ethnicity. Our employees are 55% female and 45% male, and 49% of our employees self-identify as members of a racial or ethnic minority. Employees at the director level and higher are 47% female and 53% male. Our 8-member board of directors was 25% female as of December 31, 2020.

Our principal executive offices are located at 11620 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1000, Los Angeles, California 90025 (telephone 310-966-1680).

Website addresses referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not intended to function as hyperlinks, and the information contained on our website is not incorporated into, and does not form a part of, this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any other report or documents we file with or furnish to the SEC.

Set forth below are some (but not all) of the factors that could adversely affect our performance and financial condition. Moreover, we operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all such risk factors, nor can we predict the impact of all such risk factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results.

We believe the following risks are material to our stockholders. You should carefully consider the following factors in evaluating our company, our properties and our business. The occurrence of any of the following risks could adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and our ability to pay distributions on, and the per share trading price of, our common stock and might cause our stockholders to lose all or part of their investment. For purposes of this section, the term “stockholders” means the holders of shares of our common stock and preferred stock.

Our properties are concentrated in the industrial real estate sector. This concentration exposes us to the risk of economic downturns in this sector to a greater extent than if our business activities included a more significant portion of other sectors of the real estate industry.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions intended to prevent its spread has already had a significant adverse impact on economic and market conditions around the world, including the United States and the infill Southern California markets in which we own properties and have development projects, and could further trigger a period of sustained global and U.S. economic downturn or recession. In particular, in Southern California, the state of California and certain municipalities, including where we own properties and/or have development projects, have instituted quarantines, restrictions on travel, “shelter in place” rules, restrictions on types of business that may continue to operate and/or restrictions on types of construction projects that may continue, although, exceptions are available for essential retail, food processing and distribution, shipping businesses, essential building services, such as cleaning and maintenance, manufacturing that enables the continued operating of other essential businesses and certain essential construction projects. The industries in which our tenants are concentrated and other industries may not be covered by the exceptions listed above and have been, and may continue to be, negatively impacted by reductions in demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and/or restrictions intended to prevent its spread. In addition, there can be no assurance that such exceptions will enable us to avoid adverse impacts on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity and ability to satisfy our debt service obligations. These trends may also influence occupancy levels and the immediate ability or willingness of certain of our tenants to pay rent in full on a timely basis.

Numerous state, local, federal and industry-initiated efforts have also affected or may affect landlords and their ability to collect rent and or enforce remedies for the failure to pay rent. Most municipalities in Southern California, including many of the local municipalities in which we own properties and have development projects, have mandated a moratorium on all commercial evictions and have given tenants impacted by COVID-19 the unilateral right to defer rent while the emergency orders are in effect, with repayment generally within six to twelve months after the end of the local emergency. In many of the local municipalities in which we operate, the eviction restrictions are set to expire by March 31, 2021, and in other municipalities the restrictions expire when the local emergency is lifted, although we cannot currently predict whether or not this date may be extended or for how long. As of February 16, 2021, we have executed rent relief agreements (which comprise application of security deposits, acceleration of concessions and deferral of base rent) with 270 tenants, including 120 tenants receiving deferred base rent of $4.6 million or 1.5% of our ABR at December 31, 2020. Rent relief agreements executed through February 16, 2021 cover contractual base rent for April 2020 through January 2021, and some tenants may have more than one executed rent relief agreement with us. For the second, third and fourth quarters of 2020, we have collected 88.0%, 97.3% and 97.8% of Contractual Billings (which includes contractual base rent and tenant reimbursements) charged to in-place tenants before the impact of consummated COVID-19 related rent relief agreements, respectively, and we have collected 99.1%, 98.6% and 98.0% of Contractual Billings after adjusting for rent relief provided by rent relief agreements, respectively. As of February 16, 2021, for the month of January 2021, we have collected 96.3% of Contractual Billings before the impact of rent relief agreements, and 96.5% of Contractual Billings after adjusting for rent relief provided by rent relief agreements. Additionally, as of February 16,

At this time, we cannot predict the number of tenants that will not pay rent for the month for January or February 2021, nor can we predict whether tenants who have paid or will pay rent for January or February 2021 will continue to do so in future months, including with respect to our largest tenants. We also cannot be certain of the number of tenants not paying or deferring rent out of need versus those merely taking advantage of their government-mandated ability to unilaterally defer rent. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, additional tenants may cease to pay their rent obligations to us in full or at all, and tenants may elect not to renew their leases, seek to terminate their leases, seek relief from their leases (including through negotiation, restructuring or bankruptcy), or decline to renew expiring leases or enter into new leases, all of which may adversely impact our rental revenue and occupancy rates, generate additional expenses, and adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition. Likewise, the deterioration of global economic conditions as a result of the pandemic may ultimately lead to a decrease in occupancy levels and rental rates across our portfolio as tenants reduce or defer their spending, institute restructuring plans or file for bankruptcy. Some of our major tenants have announced temporary closures of some or all of their places of business or have substantially reduced their operations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and additional tenants may do so in the future. In addition, the measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 (including quarantine, shelter-in-place or similar orders requiring that people remain in their homes) have lead and may lead to further closures, or other operational issues at, our properties.

Moreover, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions intended to prevent its spread could have significant adverse impacts on our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity and ability to satisfy our debt service obligations in a variety of ways that are difficult to predict. Such adverse impacts could depend on, among other factors:

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been a number of federal, state and local government initiatives implemented to manage the spread of COVID-19 and its impact on the economy, financial markets and continuity of businesses of all sizes and industries. We are encouraging our tenants to review these initiatives to determine whether any of the provisions may provide them with loans or additional liquidity to enable them to continue to meet their lease obligations to us; however, there can be no assurance that our tenants will do so or that such initiatives will provide them with any such assistance. In addition, we are analyzing different aspects of these initiatives to determine whether (in addition to any general support it may provide to the economy and our tenants) any specific provisions may more directly benefit us.

The rapid development and fluidity of this situation precludes any prediction as to the ultimate adverse impact of COVID-19. Nevertheless, COVID-19 and the current financial, economic and capital markets environment, and future developments in these and other areas present material risks and uncertainties with respect to our business, financial condition,

Our properties are concentrated in certain industries, which, as of December 31, 2020, included the following (and accounted for the percentage of our total annualized base rent indicated): Wholesale Trade (25.4%); Transportation and Warehousing (24.7%); and Light Manufacturing (18.9%). Any downturn in one or more of these industries, or in any other industry in which we may have a significant concentration now or in the future, could adversely affect our tenants who are involved in such industries. If any of these tenants is unable to withstand such downturn or is otherwise unable to compete effectively in its business, it may be forced to declare bankruptcy, fail to meet its rental obligations, seek rental concessions or be unable to enter into new leases, which could materially and adversely affect us.

If we are unable to finance property acquisitions or acquire properties on favorable terms, or at all, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and our ability to pay distributions on, and the per share trading price of, our common stock could be adversely affected.

As a result of our acquisitions, we may be required to incur debt and expenditures and issue additional common stock or common units to pay for the acquired properties. These acquisitions may dilute our stockholders’ ownership interest, delay or prevent our profitability and may also expose us to risks such as overpayment, reduction in value of acquired properties, and the possibility of pre-existing undisclosed liabilities, including environmental or asbestos liability, for which our insurance may be insufficient or for which we may be unable to secure insurance coverage.

We cannot provide assurance that the price for any future acquisitions will be similar to prior acquisitions. If our revenue does not keep pace with these potential acquisition and expansion costs, we may incur net losses. There is no assurance that we will successfully overcome these risks or other problems encountered with acquisitions.

As of December 31, 2020, approximately 71% of the acquisitions by property count completed by us since our initial public offering (“IPO”) were acquired in off-market or lightly marketed transactions, which are transactions that are characterized by a lack of a formal marketing process and lack of widely disseminated marketing materials. Properties that are acquired by off-market or lightly marketed transactions are typically more attractive to us as a purchaser and are a core part of our strategic plan, because the absence of a formal or extended marketing/bidding period typically results in more favorable pricing, more favorable non-economic terms and often an ability to close transactions more rapidly. If we cannot obtain off-market or lightly marketed deal flow in the future, our ability to locate and acquire additional properties in the manner in which we have historically may be adversely affected and may cause us to revisit our core strategies.

Our future acquisitions and our ability to successfully operate the properties we acquire in such acquisitions may be exposed to the following significant risks:

Factors that may adversely affect our ability to control operating costs include the need to pay for insurance and other operating costs (including real estate taxes, which could increase over time), the need to periodically repair, renovate and re-lease space, the cost of compliance with governmental regulation, including zoning and tax laws, the potential for liability under applicable laws, interest rate levels and the availability of financing. If our operating costs increase or our property income decreases as a result of any of the foregoing factors, our results of operations may be adversely affected.

Another economic or financial crisis or rapid decline of the consumer economy, significant concerns over energy costs, geopolitical issues, the availability and cost of credit, the U.S. mortgage market, or a declining real estate market in the U.S. can contribute to increased volatility, diminished expectations for the economy and the markets, and high levels of structural unemployment by historical standards.

Global market, political and economic challenges, including dislocations and volatility in the credit markets and general global economic uncertainty, may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and our ability to pay distributions on, and the per share trading price of, our common stock.

In addition, global market, political and economic conditions could adversely affect the businesses of many of our tenants. As a result, we may see increases in bankruptcies of our tenants and increased defaults by tenants, and we may experience higher vacancy rates and delays in re-leasing vacant space, which could negatively impact our business and results of operations.

As of December 31, 2020, 4.4% of the rentable square footage of our portfolio was vacant and leases representing 0.9% of the rentable square footage of our portfolio expired on December 31, 2020. In addition, leases representing 15.3% and 14.5% of the rentable square footage of the properties in our portfolio will expire in 2021 and 2022, respectively. We cannot assure you that our leases will be renewed or that our properties will be re-leased at rental rates equal to or above the current average rental rates or that we will not offer substantial rent abatements, tenant improvements, early termination rights or below-market renewal options to attract new tenants or retain existing tenants. If the rental rates for our properties decrease, or if our existing tenants do not renew their leases or we do not re-lease a significant portion of our available space and space for which leases will expire, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and our ability to pay distributions on, and the per share trading price of, our

We compete with numerous developers, owners and operators of real estate, many of which own properties similar to ours in the same submarkets in which our properties are located. If our competitors offer space at rental rates below current market rates, or below the rental rates we currently charge our tenants, we may lose existing or potential tenants and we may be pressured to reduce our rental rates below those we currently charge or to offer more substantial tenant concessions or tenant rights (including rent abatements, tenant improvements, early termination rights or below-market renewal options) in order to retain tenants or attract new tenants. Furthermore, as a result of various factors, including competitive pricing pressure in our submarkets, adverse conditions in the Southern California real estate market, a general economic downturn and a decline in the desirability of our properties compared to other properties in our submarkets, we may be unable to realize the budgeted rents for properties in our portfolio. If we are unable to obtain rental rates comparable to our asking rents for properties in our portfolio, our ability to generate cash flow growth will be negatively impacted. Significant rent reductions could result in a write-down of one or more of our consolidated properties and/or adversely affect the market price of our common stock, our financial condition and our results of operations, including our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to pay dividends to our stockholders.

A substantial majority of the leases at our properties are with tenants who have non-investment grade credit ratings. The ability of a non-investment grade tenant to meet its obligations to us cannot be considered as well assured as that of an investment grade tenant. All of our tenants may face exposure to adverse business or economic conditions which could lead to an inability to meet their obligations to us. However, non-investment grade tenants may not have the financial capacity or liquidity to adapt to these conditions or may have less diversified businesses, which may exacerbate the effects of adverse conditions on their businesses. Moreover, the fact that a substantial majority of our tenants are not investment grade may cause investors or lenders to view our cash flows as less stable, which may increase our cost of capital, limit our financing options or adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.

Historically, some of our tenants have filed for bankruptcy protection or become insolvent. This may occur with tenants in the future, and we are particularly at risk because of the credit rating of much of our tenant base. The bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant also may adversely affect the income produced by our properties. 

We may continue to acquire properties or portfolios of properties through tax-deferred contribution transactions in exchange for partnership interests in our Operating Partnership, which may result in stockholder dilution. This acquisition structure may have the effect of, among other things, reducing the amount of tax depreciation we are able to deduct over the tax life of the acquired properties, and may require that we agree to protect the contributors’ ability to defer recognition of taxable gain through restrictions on our ability to dispose of the acquired properties and/or the allocation of partnership debt to the contributors to maintain their tax bases. These restrictions limit our ability to sell an asset at a time, or on terms, that would be favorable absent such restrictions.

We may engage in development, redevelopment and repositioning activities with respect to certain of our properties. To the extent that we do so, we will be subject to the following risks associated with such development, redevelopment and repositioning activities:

In addition, we may discontinue terrorism or other insurance on some or all of our properties in the future if the cost of premiums for any such policies exceeds, in our judgment, the value of the coverage discounted for the risk of loss. Currently, we do not carry insurance for certain types of extraordinary losses, such as loss from riots, war and wildfires, because we believe such coverage is only available at a disproportionately high cost. As a result, we may incur significant costs in the event of loss from wildfires, riots, war and other uninsured losses. If we do obtain insurance for any of those risks in the future, such insurance cost may impact the operating costs and net cash flow of our properties.

We have co-invested in the past, and may co-invest again in the future, with third parties through partnerships, joint ventures or other entities, acquiring non-controlling interests in or sharing responsibility for managing the affairs of a property, partnership, joint venture or other entity. In such event, we would not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the property, partnership, joint venture or other entity, involving risks not present were a third party not involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of required capital contributions, disputes and litigation. Partners or co-venturers may have economic or other business interests or goals which are inconsistent with our business interests or goals, and may be in a position to take actions contrary to our policies or objectives, and they may have competing interests in our markets that could create conflict of interest issues. Such investments may also have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, such as a sale, because neither we nor the partner or co-venturer would have full control over the partnership or joint venture. In addition, prior consent of our joint venture partners may be required for a sale or transfer to a third party of our interests in the joint venture, which would restrict our ability to dispose of our interest in the joint

We face risks associated with security breaches, whether through cyber-attacks or cyber intrusions over the Internet, malware, computer viruses, attachments to e‑mails, persons inside our organization or persons with access to systems inside our organization, and other significant disruptions of our IT networks and related systems. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attack or cyber intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. Our IT networks and related systems are essential to the operation of our business and our ability to perform day‑to‑day operations and, in some cases, may be critical to the operations of certain of our tenants. A security breach or other significant disruption involving our IT networks and related systems could:

To help us better identify, manage, and mitigate these IT risks, we have adopted and implemented the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) cybersecurity framework. Additionally, our IT department requires each employee upon hire and at least annually thereafter to successfully complete an all-encompassing online security awareness training course. Further, all employees are required to complete bi-monthly micro training modules. Our IT department conducts periodic simulated social engineering exercises including, but not limited to, phishing (e-mail), vishing (voice), smishing (SMS), USB testing, and physical assessments. These tests are conducted at random throughout the year with no set schedule or frequency. Additionally, we may conduct targeted exercises against specific departments or individuals based on a risk determination. From time to time our employees may be required to complete remedial training courses or may be required to participate in remedial training exercises with our IT department as part of a risk-based assessment.

To further address IT security, the current chairperson of the Company’s nominating and corporate governance committee of the board of directors, an independent director with information security experience, provides board level oversight of information security and receives quarterly information security reports, while the full board of directors typically receives information security updates annually from senior leadership. Over the prior three years the Company has not been subject to any information security breaches, has not incurred any financial harm from information security breaches, nor has the Company been subject to any material information security breaches or expenses to our knowledge since our initial formation.

Lastly, on a quarterly basis we conduct third-party internal and external vulnerability assessments from our cybersecurity firm leveraging the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), and on an ongoing basis we expect to implement annual penetration testing with our third-party information security company. We currently maintain insurance policies to insure against breaches of network security, privacy liability, media liability, data incident response expenses, cyber related business interruption, and cyber extortion.

Although we make efforts to maintain the security and integrity of these types of IT networks and related systems, and we have implemented various measures to manage the risk of a security breach or disruption, including the engagement of independent third party consultants to analyze any vulnerabilities, implementation of software and systems intended to reduce the risk of IT security breaches, and ongoing cyber security education and training for employees throughout the year, there can be no assurance that our security efforts and measures will be effective or that attempted security breaches or disruptions would not be successful or damaging. Even the most well protected information, networks, systems and facilities remain potentially vulnerable because the techniques used in such attempted security breaches evolve and generally are not recognized until launched against a target, and in some cases, are designed to not be detected and, in fact, may not be detected. Accordingly, we may be unable to

In order to qualify and maintain our qualification as a REIT, we are required under the Code, among other things, to distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gain. In addition, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction, including any net capital gains. Because of these distribution requirements, we are highly dependent on third-party sources to fund capital needs, including any necessary acquisition financing. We may not be able to obtain such financing on favorable terms or at all and any additional debt we incur will increase our leverage and likelihood of default. Our access to third-party sources of capital depends, in part, on:

In prior years, the capital markets have been subject to periodic disruptions. Our inability to obtain capital when needed could have a material adverse effect on our ability to expand our business, implement our growth plan and fund other cash requirements. If we cannot obtain capital from third-party sources on favorable terms or at all when desired, we may not be able to acquire or develop properties when strategic opportunities exist, meet the capital and operating needs of our existing properties, satisfy our debt service obligations or make the cash distributions to our stockholders necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT. To the extent that capital is not available to acquire properties, profits may not be realized or their realization may be delayed, which could result in an earnings stream that is less predictable than some of our competitors and result in us not meeting our projected earnings and distributable cash flow levels in a particular reporting period. Failure to meet our projected earnings and distributable cash flow levels in a particular reporting period could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and on the market price of our stock.

Some of our financing arrangements require us to make a lump-sum or “balloon” payment at maturity. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources.” Our ability to satisfy a balloon payment at maturity is uncertain and may depend upon our ability to obtain additional financing or our ability to sell the property. At the time the balloon payment is due, we may or may not be able to refinance the existing financing on terms as favorable as the original loan or sell the property at a price sufficient to satisfy the balloon payment. Such a refinancing or sale could affect the rate of return to stockholders and the projected time of disposition of our assets.

Payments of principal and interest on borrowings may leave us with insufficient cash resources to operate our properties or to pay the dividends necessary to maintain our REIT qualification. Our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by our debt agreements could have significant adverse consequences, including the following:

Any loan defaults or property foreclosures may impact our ability to access capital in the future on favorable terms or at all, as well as our relationships with and/or perception among lenders, investors, tenants, brokers, analysts, vendors, employees and other parties. Furthermore, foreclosures could create taxable income without accompanying cash proceeds, which could hinder our ability to meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Factors That May Influence Future Results of Operations.”

Incurring mortgage and other secured debt obligations increases our risk of property losses because defaults on indebtedness secured by properties may result in foreclosure actions initiated by lenders, and ultimately our loss of the property securing any loans for which we are in default. Any foreclosure on a mortgaged property or group of properties could adversely affect the overall value of our portfolio of properties. For tax purposes, a foreclosure on any of our properties that is subject to a nonrecourse mortgage loan would be treated as a sale of the property for a purchase price equal to the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage. If the outstanding balance of the debt secured by the mortgage exceeds our tax basis in the property, we would recognize taxable income on foreclosure, but would not receive any cash proceeds, which could hinder our ability to meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code.

Subject to the rules related to maintaining our qualification as a REIT, we may enter into hedging transactions to protect us from the effects of interest rate fluctuations on floating rate debt. As of December 31, 2020, we have three interest rate swaps in place for the purpose of mitigating our exposure to fluctuations in short-term interest rates. For a summary of our interest rate swaps, see Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included in Item 15 of this Report on Form 10-K.

Our future hedging transactions may include entering into additional interest rate cap agreements or interest rate swap agreements. These agreements involve risks, such as the risk that such arrangements would not be effective in reducing our exposure to interest rate changes or that a court or regulatory agency could find that such an agreement is not legally enforceable or fails to satisfy other legal requirements. In addition, interest rate hedging can be expensive, particularly during periods of rising and volatile interest rates. Hedging could reduce the overall returns on our investments. In addition, while such agreements would be intended to lessen the impact of rising interest rates on us, they could also expose us to the risk that the other parties to the agreements would not perform, we could incur significant costs associated with the settlement of the agreements or that the underlying transactions could fail to qualify as highly effective cash flow hedges under Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging. Further, our derivatives counterparties may be subject to new capital, margin and business conduct requirements imposed as a result of the legislation, which may increase our transaction costs or make it more difficult for us to enter into additional hedging transactions on favorable terms. Our inability to enter into future hedging transactions on favorable terms, or at all, could increase our operating expenses and put us at increased exposure to interest rate risks.

Our unsecured credit facility, unsecured notes and certain of our other secured loans contain, and any other future indebtedness we incur may contain, certain covenants, which, among other things, restrict our activities, including, as applicable, our ability to sell the underlying property without the consent of the holder of such indebtedness, to repay or defease such indebtedness, to incur additional indebtedness, to make certain investments or capital expenditures or to engage in mergers or consolidations that result in a change in control of our company. We are also subject to financial and operating covenants including, as applicable, requirements to maintain certain financial coverage ratios and restrictions on our ability to make distributions to stockholders. Failure to comply with any of these covenants would likely result in a default under the applicable indebtedness that would permit the acceleration of amounts due thereunder and under other indebtedness and foreclosure of properties, if any, serving as collateral therefor.

The business activity limitations contained in the various covenants will restrict our ability to engage in some business activities that may otherwise be in our best interests. In addition, our unsecured credit facility, unsecured notes and secured term loan contain specific cross-default provisions with respect to specified other indebtedness, giving the lenders the right to declare a default if we are in default under other loans in some circumstances.

In July 2017, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”), which regulates LIBOR, announced it intends to stop compelling banks to submit rates for the calculation of LIBOR after 2021. As a result, the Federal Reserve Board and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York organized the Alternative Reference Rates Committee ("ARRC"), which identified the Secured Overnight Financing Rate ("SOFR") as its preferred alternative rate for U.S. dollar LIBOR (“USD LIBOR”) in derivatives and other financial contracts. Subsequently, in November 2020, the Intercontinental Exchange Benchmark Administration Limited, the administrator of LIBOR, announced that it would consult on its intention to cease the publication of the one-week and two-month USD LIBOR settings immediately following December 31, 2021, and the remaining USD LIBOR settings immediately following the LIBOR publication on June 30, 2023.

We are not able to predict when LIBOR will cease to be available or when there will be sufficient liquidity in the SOFR markets. Any changes adopted by the FCA or other governing bodies in the method used for determining LIBOR may result in a sudden or prolonged increase or decrease in reported LIBOR. If that were to occur, our interest payments could change. In addition, uncertainty about the extent and manner of future changes may result in interest rates and/or payments that are higher or lower than if LIBOR were to remain available in its current form.

We have contracts that are indexed to LIBOR and are monitoring and evaluating the related risks, which include interest on loans and amounts received and paid on derivative instruments. These risks arise in connection with transitioning contracts to an alternative rate, including any resulting value transfer that may occur, and are likely to vary by contract. The value of loans or derivative instruments tied to LIBOR, as well as interest rates on our current or future indebtedness, may also be impacted if LIBOR is limited or discontinued. For some instruments the method of transitioning to an alternative reference rate may be challenging, especially if we cannot agree with the respective counterparty about how to make the transition.

While we expect LIBOR to be available in substantially its current form until at least the end of 2021, it is possible that LIBOR will become unavailable prior to that point. This could result, for example, if sufficient banks decline to make submissions to the LIBOR administrator. In that case, the risks associated with the transition to an alternative reference rate will be accelerated and magnified.

Alternative rates and other market changes related to the replacement of LIBOR, including the introduction of financial products and changes in market practices, may lead to risk modeling and valuation challenges, such as adjusting interest rate accrual calculations and building a term structure for an alternative rate.

The introduction of an alternative rate also may create additional basis risk and increased volatility as alternative rates are phased in and utilized in parallel with LIBOR.

Our ability to pay expected dividends to our stockholders depends on our ability to generate revenues in excess of expenses, scheduled principal payments on debt and capital expenditure requirements. Events and conditions generally applicable to owners and operators of real property that are beyond our control may decrease cash available for distribution and the value of our properties. These events include many of the risks set forth above under “—Risks Related to Our Business and Operations,” as well as the following:

In addition, periods of economic downturn or recession, rising interest rates or declining demand for real estate, or the public perception that any of these events may occur, could result in a general decline in rents or an increased incidence of defaults under existing leases.  

The real estate investments made, and to be made, by us are relatively difficult to sell quickly. As a result, our ability to promptly sell one or more properties in our portfolio in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions is limited. Our ability to dispose of properties on advantageous terms depends on factors beyond our control, including competition from other sellers and the availability of attractive financing for potential buyers of our properties. Due to the uncertainty of market conditions which may affect the future disposition of our properties, we cannot assure you that we will be able to sell any properties identified for sale at favorable pricing and may not receive net income from the transaction.

Return of capital and realization of gains, if any, from an investment generally will occur upon disposition or refinancing of the underlying property. We may be unable to realize our investment objectives by sale, other disposition or refinancing at attractive prices within any given period of time or may otherwise be unable to complete any exit strategy. In particular, our ability to dispose of one or more properties within a specific time period is subject to certain limitations imposed by our Tax Matters Agreements, as well as weakness in or even the lack of an established market for a property, changes in the financial condition or prospects of prospective purchasers, changes in national or international economic conditions, and changes in laws, regulations or fiscal policies of jurisdictions in which the property is located.

In addition, the Code imposes restrictions on a REIT’s ability to dispose of properties that are not applicable to other types of real estate companies. In particular, the tax laws applicable to REITs effectively require that we hold our properties for investment, rather than primarily for sale in the ordinary course of business, which may cause us to forgo or defer sales of properties that otherwise would be in our best interest. Therefore, we may not be able to vary our portfolio in response to economic or other conditions promptly or on favorable terms.  

We review the carrying value of our properties when circumstances, such as adverse market conditions, indicate a potential impairment may exist. We base our review on an estimate of the future cash flows (excluding interest charges) expected to result from the property’s use and eventual disposition on an undiscounted basis. We consider factors such as future operating income, trends and prospects, as well as the effects of leasing demand, competition and other factors. If our evaluation indicates that we may be unable to recover the carrying value of a real estate investment, an impairment loss will be recorded to the extent that the carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value of the property.

Impairment losses have a direct impact on our operating results, because recording an impairment loss results in a negative adjustment to our publicly reported operating results. The evaluation of anticipated cash flows is highly subjective and is based in part on assumptions regarding future occupancy, rental rates and capital requirements that could differ materially from actual results in future periods. A worsening real estate market may cause us to reevaluate the assumptions used in our impairment analysis.

We have acquired properties in markets that are new to us. For example, our predecessor business acquired properties in Arizona and Illinois as part of an acquisition of a portfolio of properties that included properties located in our target markets. When we acquire properties located in new markets, we may face risks associated with a lack of market knowledge or understanding of the local economy, forging new business relationships in the area and unfamiliarity with local government and permitting procedures. In the past when we have acquired properties outside of our focus market, we have subsequently divested those properties, and at this time we expect to continue this practice.

We may choose not to distribute any proceeds from the sale of real estate investments to our stockholders. Instead, we may elect to use such proceeds to:

We carry several different lines of insurance, placed with several large insurance carriers that we believe have good ratings at the time our policies are put into effect. If any one of these large insurance carriers were to become insolvent, we would be forced to replace the existing insurance coverage with another suitable carrier, and any outstanding claims would be at significant risk for collection. In such an event, we cannot be certain that we would be able to replace the coverage at similar or otherwise favorable terms. Replacing insurance coverage at unfavorable rates and the potential of uncollectible claims due to carrier insolvency would likely adversely affect us.

Even if we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we will be required to pay some state and local taxes on our properties. The real property taxes on our properties may increase as property tax rates change or as our properties are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. All our properties located in California may be reassessed as a result of various factors including, without limitation, changes in California laws that contain certain limitations on annual increases of assessed value of real property. In recent years, there have been calls for a so called “split roll” under which commercial and industrial property owners would no longer receive the benefits of California Proposition 13 caps to property tax increases. During the November 2020 election, there was a California ballot initiative to create such as “split roll” and remove the property tax increase caps for commercial and industrial real estate. This ballot initiative failed by a margin of less than four percent. There is a risk future ballot initiatives will succeed. If the property taxes we pay increase, our cash flow would be adversely impacted to the extent that we are not reimbursed by tenants for those taxes.

We often dispose of properties in transactions that are intended to qualify for federal income tax deferral as a “like-kind exchange” under Section 1031 of the Code (a “1031 Exchange”). It is possible that a transaction intended to qualify as a 1031 Exchange could later be determined to have been taxable or that we may be unable to identify and complete the acquisition of a suitable replacement property to complete a 1031 Exchange. If this occurs, we could face adverse tax consequences. Additionally, it is possible that legislation could be enacted that could modify or repeal the laws with respect to 1031 Exchanges, which could impact our ability to dispose of properties on a tax deferred basis.

Under various federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to the environment, as a current or former owner or operator of real property, we may be liable for costs and damages resulting from the presence or discharge of hazardous or toxic substances, waste or petroleum products at, on, in, under or migrating to or from such property, including costs to investigate, clean up such contamination and liability for harm to natural resources. Such laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such contamination, and the liability may be joint and several. These liabilities could be substantial and the cost of any required remediation, removal, fines or other costs could exceed the value of the property and in some cases our aggregate net asset value. In addition, the presence of contamination or the failure to remediate contamination at our properties may expose us to third-party liability for costs of remediation and/or personal, property, or natural resources damage or materially adversely affect our ability to sell, lease or develop our properties or to borrow using the properties as collateral. In addition, environmental laws may create liens on contaminated sites in favor of the government for damages and costs it incurs to address such contamination. Moreover, if contamination is discovered on our properties, environmental laws may impose restrictions on the manner in which property may be used or businesses may be operated, and these restrictions may require substantial expenditures.

We obtain Phase I, or Phase II as recommended, or similar environmental site assessments conducted by independent environmental consultants on most of our properties at the time of their acquisition or in connection with subsequent financings, however, these assessments are limited in scope and are not updated in the ordinary course of business absent a specific need and therefore may not reveal all environmental conditions affecting a property. This may expose us to liability related to unknown or unanticipated environmental matters. Unless required by applicable laws or regulations, we may not further investigate, remedy or ameliorate the liabilities disclosed in the existing Phase Is or similar environmental site assessments, and this failure may expose us to liability in the future. While we maintain portfolio environmental and some site-specific insurance policies, they may be insufficient to cover any such environmental costs and liabilities.

Some of our properties have been or may be impacted by contamination arising from current or prior uses of the property, or adjacent properties, for commercial or industrial purposes. Such contamination may arise from spills of petroleum or hazardous substances or releases from tanks used to store such material known or suspected to exist at a number of our properties which may result in further investigation, remediation, or deed restrictions. Further, certain of our properties are adjacent to or near other properties that have contained or currently contain petroleum or other hazardous substances, or at which others have engaged or may engage in activities that may release such hazardous substances. Adjacent property uses are identified in standard ASTM procedures in Phase I environmental studies, and if warranted based on adjacent property concerns a Phase II environmental study may be obtained. In addition to a blanket environmental insurance policy, as needed, we may obtain environmental insurance policies on commercially reasonable terms that provide coverage for potential environmental liabilities, subject to the policy’s coverage conditions and limitations. However, these policies are subject to certain limits, deductibles and exclusions, and insurance may not fully compensate us for any environmental liability. From time to time, we may acquire properties with known adverse environmental conditions where we believe that the environmental liabilities associated with these conditions are quantifiable and that the acquisition will yield a superior risk-adjusted return. We usually perform a Phase I environmental site assessment at any property we are considering acquiring. Phase I environmental site assessments are limited in scope and do not involve sampling of soil, soil vapor, or groundwater, and these assessments may not include or identify all potential environmental liabilities or risks associated with the property. Even where subsurface investigation is performed, it can be very difficult to ascertain the full extent of environmental contamination or the costs that are likely to flow from such contamination. We cannot assure you that the Phase I environmental site assessment or other environmental studies identified all potential environmental liabilities, or that we will not face significant remediation costs or other environmental contamination that makes it difficult to sell any affected properties. Also, we have not always implemented actions recommended by these assessments, and recommended investigation and remediation of known or suspected contamination has not always been performed. Contamination may exist at many of our properties, and governmental regulators or third parties could seek to force us to contribute to investigation or remediation or known or suspected contamination. As a result, we could potentially incur material liability for these issues.

Environmental laws also govern the presence, maintenance and removal of asbestos-containing building materials, or ACBM, and may impose fines and penalties for failure to comply with these requirements. Such laws require that owners or operators of buildings containing ACBM (and employers in such buildings) properly manage and maintain the asbestos, adequately notify or train those who may come into contact with asbestos, and undertake special precautions, including removal or other abatement, if asbestos would be disturbed during renovation or demolition of a building. In addition, the presence of ACBM in our properties may expose us to third-party liability (e.g., liability for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos).

In addition, the properties in our portfolio also are subject to various federal, state and local environmental, health and safety requirements, such as state and local fire requirements. Moreover, some of our tenants routinely handle and use hazardous or regulated substances and wastes as part of their operations at our properties, which are subject to regulation. Such environmental, health and safety laws and regulations could subject us or our tenants to liability resulting from these activities. Environmental liabilities could affect a tenant’s ability to make rental payments to us. In addition, changes in laws could increase the potential liability for noncompliance. This may result in significant unanticipated expenditures or may otherwise materially and adversely affect our operations, or those of our tenants, which could in turn have an adverse effect on us. Further, these environmental, health and safety laws could become more stringent in the future, and this could subject us or our tenants to new or greater liability.

We cannot assure you that remedial measures and other costs or liabilities incurred as a result of environmental issues will be immaterial to our overall financial position. If we do incur material environmental liabilities in the future, we may face significant remediation costs, and we may find it difficult to sell any affected properties.

When excessive moisture accumulates in buildings or on building materials, mold growth may occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or is not addressed over a period of time. Some molds may produce airborne toxins or irritants. Indoor air quality issues can also stem from inadequate ventilation, chemical contamination from indoor or outdoor sources, and other biological contaminants such as pollen, viruses and bacteria. Indoor exposure to airborne toxins or irritants above certain levels can be alleged to cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants at any of our properties could require us to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold or other airborne contaminants from the affected property or increase indoor ventilation. In addition, the presence of significant mold or other airborne contaminants could expose us to liability from our tenants, employees of our tenants or others if property damage or personal injury is alleged to have occurred.

Our properties are subject to various covenants and federal, state and local laws and regulatory requirements, including permitting and licensing requirements. Local regulations, including municipal or local ordinances and zoning restrictions, may restrict our use of our properties and may require us to obtain approval from local officials of community standards organizations at any time with respect to our properties, including prior to acquiring a property or when undertaking renovations to any of our existing properties. Among other things, these restrictions may relate to fire and safety, seismic or hazardous material abatement requirements. There can be no assurance that existing laws and regulatory policies will not adversely affect us or the timing or cost of any future acquisitions or renovations, or that additional regulations will not be adopted that increase such delays or result in additional costs. Our growth strategy may be affected by our ability to obtain permits, licenses and zoning relief.

In addition, federal and state laws and regulations, including laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and parallel California Statutes, or ADA, and the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988, or FHAA, impose further restrictions on our properties and operations. Under the ADA and the FHAA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Some of our properties may currently be in non-compliance with the ADA or the FHAA. If one or more of the properties in our portfolio is not in compliance with the ADA, the FHAA or any other regulatory requirements, we may be required to incur additional costs to bring the property into compliance, including the removal of access barriers, and we might incur governmental fines or the award of damages to private litigants. In addition, we do not know whether existing requirements will change or whether future requirements will require us to make significant unanticipated expenditures.

Furthermore, while leases with our tenants generally include provisions to obligate the tenants to comply with all laws and operate within a defined use, there is no guaranty that the tenants will comply with the terms of their leases. We may incur costs to bring a property into legal compliance even though the tenant may have been contractually required to comply and pay for the cost of compliance. Our tenants may disregard the use restrictions contained in the leases and conduct operations not contemplated by the lease, such as prohibited uses related to cannabis or highly hazardous uses, for example, despite our efforts to prohibit certain uses.

Under California energy efficiency standards, enacted and periodically amended, including, without limitation, Title 24 or The Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings, building owners may incur increased costs to renovate properties in order to meet changing energy efficiency standards and make energy usage disclosures. If we are required to make unanticipated expenditures or substantial modifications to our properties, our financial condition, cash flows, results of operations, the market price of our shares of common stock and preferred stock and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders could be adversely affected. We may incur additional costs collecting and reporting energy usage data from our tenants and properties in order to comply with such energy efficiency standards.

Conflicts of interest may exist or could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the one hand, and our Operating Partnership or any partner thereof, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company under Maryland law in connection with their management of our company. At the same time, we, as the general partner of our Operating Partnership, have fiduciary duties and obligations to our Operating Partnership and its limited partners under Maryland law and the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership in connection with the management of our Operating Partnership. Our fiduciary duties and obligations as the general partner of our Operating Partnership may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to our company.

Under Maryland law, a general partner of a Maryland limited partnership has fiduciary duties of loyalty and care to the partnership and its partners and must discharge its duties and exercise its rights as general partner under the partnership agreement or Maryland law consistent with the obligation of good faith and fair dealing. The partnership agreement provides that, in the event of a conflict between the interests of our Operating Partnership or any partner, on the one hand, and the separate interests of our company or our stockholders, on the other hand, we, in our capacity as the general partner of our Operating Partnership, may give priority to the separate interests of our company or our stockholders (including with respect to tax consequences to limited partners, assignees or our stockholders), and, in the event of such a conflict, any action or failure to act on our part or on the part of our directors that gives priority to the separate interests of our company or our stockholders that does not result in a violation of the contract rights of the limited partners of our Operating Partnership under its partnership agreement does not violate the duty of loyalty or any other duty that we, in our capacity as the general partner of our Operating Partnership, owe to our Operating Partnership and its partners or violate the obligation of good faith and fair dealing.

Additionally, the partnership agreement provides that we generally will not be liable to our Operating Partnership or any partner for any action or omission taken in our capacity as general partner, for the debts or liabilities of our Operating Partnership or for the obligations of the Operating Partnership under the partnership agreement, except for liability for our fraud, willful misconduct or gross negligence, pursuant to any express indemnity we may give to our Operating Partnership or in connection with a redemption.  Our Operating Partnership must indemnify us, our directors and officers, officers of our Operating Partnership and our designees from and against any and all claims that relate to the operations of our Operating Partnership, unless (1) an act or omission of the person was material to the matter giving rise to the action and either was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, (2) the person actually received an improper personal benefit in violation or breach of the partnership agreement or (3) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the indemnified person had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful. Our Operating Partnership must also pay or reimburse the reasonable expenses of any such person in advance of a final disposition of the proceeding upon its receipt of a written affirmation of the person’s good faith belief that the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification has been met and a written undertaking to repay any amounts paid or advanced if it is ultimately determined that the person did not meet the standard of conduct for indemnification. Our Operating Partnership is not required to indemnify or advance funds to any person with respect to any action initiated by the person seeking indemnification without our approval (except for any proceeding brought to enforce such person’s right to indemnification under the partnership agreement) or if the person is found to be liable to our Operating Partnership on any portion of any claim in the action. No reported decision of a Maryland appellate court has interpreted provisions similar to the provisions of the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership that modify and reduce our fiduciary duties or obligations as the general partner or reduce or eliminate our liability to our Operating Partnership and its partners, and we have not obtained an opinion of counsel as to the enforceability of the provisions set forth in the partnership agreement that purport to modify or reduce the fiduciary duties and obligations that would be in effect were it not for the partnership agreement.

Certain of our executive officers and directors have outside business interests, including interests in real estate-related businesses, and may own equity securities of public and private real estate companies. Our executive officers’ and directors’ interests in these entities could create a conflict of interest, especially when making determinations regarding our renewal of leases with tenants subject to these leases. Our executive officers’ involvement in other businesses and real estate-related activities could divert their attention from our day-to-day operations, and state law may limit our ability to enforce any non-compete agreements.

Our board of directors, without stockholder approval, has the power under our charter to amend our charter to increase the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we are authorized to issue, to authorize us to issue authorized but unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and to classify or reclassify any unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock into one or more classes or series of stock and set the terms of such newly classified or reclassified shares. As a result, we may issue classes or series of common stock or preferred stock with preferences, powers and rights, voting or otherwise, that are senior to, or otherwise conflict with, the rights of holders of our common stock. Although our board of directors has no such intention at the present time, it could establish a class or series of preferred stock that could, depending on the terms of such series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or that our stockholders otherwise believe to be in their best interest.

Certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law (“MGCL”), may have the effect of inhibiting a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or of impeding a change of control under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of shares of our common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of such shares, including:

As permitted by the MGCL, our bylaws provide that we will not be subject to the control share provisions of the MGCL and our board of directors has, by resolution, exempted us from the business combination between us and any other person. However, we cannot assure you that our board of directors will not revise the bylaws or such resolution in order to be subject to such business combination and control share provisions in the future. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an alteration or repeal of the board resolution exempting such business combinations will not have any effect on any business combinations that have been consummated or upon any agreements existing at the time of such modification or repeal.

Certain provisions of the MGCL permit the board of directors of a Maryland corporation with at least three independent directors and a class of stock registered under the Exchange Act without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in its charter or bylaws, to implement certain corporate governance provisions, some of which (for example, a classified board) are not currently applicable to us. These provisions may have the effect of limiting or precluding a third party from making an unsolicited acquisition proposal for our company or of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of shares of our stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then current market price. Our charter contains a provision whereby it elects to be subject to the provisions of Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL relating to the filling of vacancies on the board of directors.

Provisions of the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership may delay or make more difficult unsolicited acquisitions of us or changes of our control. These provisions could discourage third parties from making proposals involving an unsolicited acquisition of us or change of our control, although some stockholders or limited partners might consider such proposals, if made, desirable. These provisions include, among others:

Our charter and bylaws, the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership and Maryland law also contain other provisions that may delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or that our stockholders otherwise believe to be in their best interest.

In connection with certain tax-deferred property contribution transactions in exchange for partnership interests in our Operating Partnership and also in connection with our formation transactions, we entered into Tax Matters Agreements with certain limited partners of our Operating Partnership, including Messrs. Ziman, Schwimmer and Frankel in connection with the IPO, that provide that if we dispose of any interest with respect to certain properties in our portfolio in a taxable transaction during a certain period after the applicable transaction, our Operating Partnership will indemnify such limited partners for their tax liabilities attributable to their share of the built-in gain that exists with respect to such property interest as of the time of the applicable transaction and tax liabilities incurred as a result of the indemnification payment; provided that, subject to certain exceptions and limitations, such indemnification rights will terminate for any such protected partner that sells, exchanges or

Certain Tax Matters Agreements provides that, during a certain period after the applicable transaction (in the case of the IPO, the period beginning from the date of the completion of our IPO (July 24, 2013) through the period ending on the twelfth anniversary of our IPO (July 24, 2025)), our Operating Partnership will offer certain limited partners the opportunity to guarantee its debt, and following such period, our Operating Partnership will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide such limited partners who continue to own at least 50% of the common units or other applicable units they originally received in the applicable transactions with debt guarantee opportunities. Our Operating Partnership will be required to indemnify such limited partners for their tax liabilities resulting from our failure to make such opportunities available to them (plus an additional amount equal to the taxes incurred as a result of such indemnity payment). Among other things, this opportunity to guarantee debt is intended to allow the participating limited partners to defer the recognition of gain in connection with the applicable transactions. These obligations may require us to maintain more or different indebtedness than we would otherwise require for our business.

Our investment and financing policies are exclusively determined by our board of directors. Accordingly, our stockholders do not control these policies. Further, our charter and bylaws do not limit the amount or percentage of indebtedness, funded or otherwise, that we may incur. Our board of directors may alter or eliminate our current policy on borrowing at any time without stockholder approval. If this policy changed, we could become more highly leveraged which could result in an increase in our debt service. Higher leverage also increases the risk of default on our obligations. In addition, a change in our investment policies, including the manner in which we allocate our resources across our portfolio or the types of assets in which we seek to invest, may increase our exposure to interest rate risk, real estate market fluctuations and liquidity risk.

As permitted by Maryland law, our charter eliminates the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from:     

We are a holding company and conduct substantially all of our operations through our Operating Partnership. We do not have, apart from an interest in our Operating Partnership, any independent operations. As a result, we rely on distributions from our Operating Partnership to continue to pay any dividends we might declare on shares of our common stock. We also rely on distributions from our Operating Partnership to meet any of our obligations, including any tax liability on taxable income allocated to us from our Operating Partnership. In addition, because we are a holding company, stockholder claims will be structurally subordinated to all existing and future liabilities and obligations (whether or not for borrowed money) of our Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries. Therefore, in the event of our bankruptcy, liquidation or reorganization, our assets and those of our Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries will be available to satisfy the claims of our stockholders only after all of our and our Operating Partnership’s and its subsidiaries’ liabilities and obligations have been paid in full.

As of December 31, 2020, we own 95.2% of the outstanding common units in our Operating Partnership and we may, in connection with future acquisitions of properties or otherwise, cause our Operating Partnership to issue additional common units to third parties. In addition, in connection with our issuances of preferred stock, our Operating Partnership has issued to us preferred units and may issue additional preferred units to us in the future. In addition, the Operating Partnership has issued and in the future may issue additional common units and/or preferred units to third parties in connection with acquisitions or otherwise. Existing preferred units have and any future preferred units may have preferences, powers and rights, voting or otherwise, that are senior to, or otherwise conflict with the common units and are structurally senior to our common stock. Such issuances would reduce our ownership percentage in our Operating Partnership and affect the amount of distributions made to us by our Operating Partnership and, therefore, the amount of distributions we can make to our stockholders.

We have elected to be taxed as a REIT for federal income tax purposes commencing with our initial taxable year ended December 31, 2013. We intend to continue to meet the requirements for taxation as a REIT.  We have not requested and do not plan to request a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) that we qualify as a REIT, and the statements in this Form 10-K are not binding on the IRS or any court. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that we will qualify as a REIT, or that we will remain qualified as such in the future. If we were to fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we will face serious tax consequences that would substantially reduce the funds available for distribution to you for each of the years involved because:

Any such corporate tax liability could be substantial and would reduce our cash available for, among other things, our operations and distributions to stockholders. In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, we will not be required to make distributions to our stockholders. As a result of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT also could impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital and could materially and adversely affect the value of our common stock.

Qualification as a REIT involves the application of highly technical and complex Code provisions for which there are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations. The complexity of these provisions and of the applicable Treasury regulations that have been promulgated under the Code, or the Treasury Regulations, is greater in the case of a REIT that, like us, holds its assets through a partnership. The determination of various factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control may affect our ability to qualify as a REIT. In order to qualify as a REIT, we must satisfy a number of requirements, including requirements regarding the ownership of our stock, requirements regarding the composition of our assets and requirements regarding the sources of our gross income. Also, we must make distributions to stockholders aggregating annually at

Even if we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we may be subject to some federal, state and local income, property and excise taxes on our income or property and, in certain cases, a 100% penalty tax, in the event we sell property as a dealer. In addition, our taxable REIT subsidiary will be subject to tax as a regular corporation in the jurisdictions it operates.

We believe that our Operating Partnership will be treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. As a partnership, our Operating Partnership will not be subject to federal income tax on its income. Instead, each of its partners, including us, will be allocated, and may be required to pay tax with respect to, its share of our Operating Partnership’s income. We cannot assure you, however, that the IRS will not challenge the status of our Operating Partnership or any other subsidiary partnership in which we own an interest as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, or that a court would not sustain such a challenge. If the IRS were successful in treating our Operating Partnership or any such other subsidiary partnership as an entity taxable as a corporation for federal income tax purposes, we would fail to meet the gross income tests and certain of the asset tests applicable to REITs and, accordingly, we would likely cease to qualify as a REIT. Also, the failure of our Operating Partnership or any subsidiary partnerships to qualify as a partnership could cause it to become subject to federal and state corporate income tax, which would reduce significantly the amount of cash available for debt service and for distribution to its partners, including us.

We own an interest in one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries, and may acquire securities in additional taxable REIT subsidiaries in the future. A taxable REIT subsidiary is a corporation other than a REIT in which a REIT directly or indirectly holds stock, and that has made a joint election with such REIT to be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary. If a taxable REIT subsidiary owns more than 35% of the total voting power or value of the outstanding securities of another corporation, such other corporation will also be treated as a taxable REIT subsidiary. Other than some activities relating to lodging and health care facilities, a taxable REIT subsidiary may generally engage in any business, including the provision of customary or non-customary services to tenants of its parent REIT. A taxable REIT subsidiary is subject to federal income tax as a regular C corporation. In addition, a 100% excise tax will be imposed on certain transactions between a taxable REIT subsidiary and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s length basis.

To qualify as a REIT, we generally must distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income each year, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding net capital gains, and we will be subject to regular corporate income taxes to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income (determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid) each year. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which distributions paid by us in any calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of our ordinary income, 95% of our capital gain net income and 100% of our undistributed income from prior years. Accordingly, we may not be able to retain sufficient cash flow from operations to meet our debt service requirements and repay our debt. Therefore, we may need to raise additional capital for these purposes, and we cannot assure you that a sufficient amount of capital will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all, when needed. Further, in order to maintain our REIT qualification and avoid the payment of income and excise taxes, we may need to borrow funds to meet the REIT distribution requirements even if the then prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings. These borrowing needs could result from, among other things, differences in timing between the actual receipt of cash and inclusion of income for federal income tax purposes, or the effect of non-deductible capital expenditures, the creation of reserves or required debt or amortization payments. These sources, however, may not be available on favorable terms or at all. Our access to third-party sources of capital depends on a number of factors, including the market’s perception of our growth potential, our current debt levels, the per share trading price of our common stock, and our

The maximum tax rate applicable to “qualified dividend income” payable to U.S. stockholders that are individuals, trusts and estates is 20%. Dividends payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for these reduced rates. Under current law, however, U.S. stockholders that are individuals, trusts and estates generally may deduct up to 20% of the ordinary dividends (e.g., dividends not designated as capital gain dividends or qualified dividend income) received from a REIT for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2026. Although this deduction reduces the effective tax rate applicable to certain dividends paid by REITs (generally to 29.6% assuming the shareholder is subject to the 37% maximum rate), such tax rate is still higher than the tax rate applicable to corporate dividends that constitute qualified dividend income. Accordingly, investors who are individuals, trusts and estates may perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the shares of REITs.  

A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% penalty tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of property, other than foreclosure property, held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. Although we do not intend to hold any properties that would be characterized as held for sale to customers in the ordinary course of our business, unless a sale or disposition qualifies under certain statutory safe harbors, such characterization is a factual determination and no guarantee can be given that the IRS would agree with our characterization of our properties or that we will always be able to make use of the available safe harbors.

To qualify as a REIT, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the nature and diversification of our assets, the sources of our income and the amounts we distribute to our stockholders. We may be required to liquidate or forgo otherwise attractive investments in order to satisfy the asset and income tests or to qualify under certain statutory relief provisions. We also may be required to make distributions to stockholders at disadvantageous times or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. As a result, having to comply with the distribution requirement could cause us to: (1) sell assets in adverse market conditions; (2) borrow on unfavorable terms; or (3) distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions, capital expenditures or repayment of debt. Accordingly, satisfying the REIT requirements could have an adverse effect on our business results, profitability and ability to execute our business plan. Moreover, if we are compelled to liquidate our investments to meet any of these asset, income or distribution tests, or to repay obligations to our lenders, we may be unable to comply with one or more of the requirements applicable to REITs or may be subject to a 100% tax on any resulting gain if such sales constitute prohibited transactions.

The rules dealing with federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Changes to the tax laws, with or without retroactive application, could adversely affect our investors or us. We cannot predict how changes in the tax laws might affect our investors or us. New legislation, Treasury Regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions could significantly and negatively affect our ability to qualify as a REIT or the federal income tax consequences of such qualification, or the federal income tax consequences of an investment in us. Also, the law relating to the tax treatment of other entities, or an investment in other entities, could change, making an investment in such other entities more attractive relative to an investment in a REIT.

None.

As of December 31, 2020, our consolidated portfolio consisted of 248 wholly-owned properties located in Southern California infill markets totaling approximately 31.5 million rentable square feet.