Alpine Income Property Trust (PINE) 10-K2021 FY Annual report

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART I

When we refer to “we,” “us,” “our,” “PINE,” or “the Company,” we mean Alpine Income Property Trust, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries. References to “Notes to Financial Statements” refer to the Notes to the Consolidated and Combined Financial Statements of Alpine Income Property Trust, Inc. included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Also, when the Company uses any of the words “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” or similar expressions, the Company is making forward-looking statements. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon present expectations and reasonable assumptions, the Company’s actual results could differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Certain factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those the Company anticipates or projects are described in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Given these uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements, which speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any document incorporated herein by reference. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

ITEM 1.            BUSINESS

OVERVIEW

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We are a real estate company that owns and operates a high-quality portfolio of commercial net lease properties all located in the United States. Our properties are primarily leased to industry leading, creditworthy tenants, many of which operate in industries we believe are resistant to the impact of e-commerce. Our portfolio consists of 113 net leased properties located in 76 markets in 32 states. Our initial portfolio consisted of twenty properties, of which four have been sold as of December 31, 2021, which were acquired from CTO Realty Growth, Inc. (“CTO”), a public company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) under the symbol “CTO,” in the Formation Transactions (defined below) utilizing $125.9 million of proceeds from our initial public offering of our common stock (the “IPO”) and the issuance of 1,223,854 units of our operating partnership (the “OP Units”) that had an initial value of $23.3 million based on the IPO price of $19.00 per share (the “IPO Price”).

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Our portfolio is comprised of net leased properties primarily located in or in close proximity to major Metropolitan Statistical Areas (“MSAs”), growth markets and other markets in the United States with favorable economic and demographic conditions. The properties in our portfolio are primarily triple-net leases, which generally require the tenant to pay all of the property operating expenses such as real estate taxes, insurance, assessments and other governmental fees, utilities, repairs and maintenance expenses and certain capital expenditures.

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The Company elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with its initial taxable year ended December 31, 2019. We believe the Company has been organized and has operated in such a manner as to qualify for taxation as a REIT under the U.S. federal income tax laws. We intend to continue to operate in such a manner, but no assurances can be given that we will continue to operate in such a manner as to qualify for taxation as a REIT under the U.S. federal income tax laws.

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Our primary objective is to maximize cash flow and value per share by generating stable and growing cash flows and attractive risk-adjusted returns through the ownership, operation and growth through acquisition of a diversified portfolio of high-quality, net leased commercial properties with attractive long-term real estate fundamentals. The 113 properties in our portfolio are 100% occupied and represent 3.3 million of gross rentable square feet with leases that have a weighted average lease term of 7.9 years (weighting based on annualized base rent as of December 31, 2021). Our portfolio is representative of our investment strategy, which consists of one or more of the following core investment criteria:

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Organization and Formation Transactions

The Company is a Maryland corporation formed on August 19, 2019. We closed the IPO on November 26, 2019 and our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “PINE.” We sold 7,500,000 shares of our common stock at $19.00 per share in the IPO. CTO purchased 421,053 of the shares of our common stock that we sold in the IPO. We refer to the IPO, the CTO Private Placement (defined below), and the other transactions executed at the time of our listing on the NYSE collectively as the “Formation Transactions.”

We conduct the substantial majority of our operations through, and substantially all of our assets are held by, Alpine Income Property OP, LP (the “Operating Partnership”). Our wholly owned subsidiary, Alpine Income Property GP, LLC (“PINE GP”), is the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2021, we have a total ownership interest in the Operating Partnership of 87.1%, with CTO holding, directly and indirectly, a 9.3% ownership interest in the Operating Partnership. The remaining 3.6% ownership interest is held by an unrelated third party in connection with the issuance of 479,640 OP Units valued at $9.0 million in the aggregate, or $18.85 per unit. The issuance of 479,640 OP Units includes (i) 424,951 OP Units issued as consideration for the portfolio of nine net lease properties acquired on June 30, 2021 and (ii) 54,689 OP Units issued as consideration for the acquisition of one net lease property on July 12, 2021 (see Note 4, “Property Portfolio” to the consolidated and combined financial statements included in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.). Our interest in the Operating Partnership generally entitles us to share in cash distributions from, and in the profits and losses of, the Operating Partnership in proportion to our percentage ownership. We, through PINE GP, generally have the exclusive power under the partnership agreement to manage and conduct the business and affairs of the Operating Partnership, subject to certain approval and voting rights of the limited partners. Our Board of Directors (the “Board”) manages our business and affairs.

Each limited partner of the Operating Partnership has the right to require the Operating Partnership to redeem part or all of its OP Units for cash, based upon the value of an equivalent number of shares of our common stock at the time of the redemption, or, at our election, shares of our common stock on a one-for-one basis, beginning on and after the date that is 12 months after issuance of such OP Units, subject to certain adjustments and the restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock set forth in our charter. Each redemption of OP Units will increase our percentage ownership interest in the Operating Partnership and our share of its cash distributions and profits and losses.

We are externally managed by Alpine Income Property Manager, LLC (our “Manager”), a wholly owned subsidiary of CTO. Concurrently with the closing of the IPO, CTO invested $7.5 million in exchange for 394,737 shares of our common stock at the IPO Price (the “CTO Private Placement”). In addition, CTO purchased from us $8.0 million in shares of our common stock, or 421,053 shares, in the IPO. See Note 11, “Equity” to the consolidated and combined financial statements included in Item 8, “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the Company’s disclosure related to CTO’s purchase of PINE common stock subsequent to the IPO.  

Capital Markets

Equity. On December 1, 2020, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3, relating to the registration and potential issuance of its common stock, preferred stock, warrants, rights, and units with a maximum aggregate offering price of up to $350.0 million. The Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) declared the Form S-3 effective on December 11, 2020.

On December 14, 2020, the Company implemented a $100.0 million at-the-market (“ATM”) offering program (the “2020 ATM Program”) pursuant to which the Company may sell, from time to time, shares of the Company’s common stock. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company sold 761,902 shares under the 2020 ATM Program for gross proceeds of $14.0 million at a weighted average price of $18.36 per share, generating net proceeds of $13.8 million after deducting transaction fees totaling $0.2 million. The Company was not active under the 2020 ATM Program during the year ended December 31, 2020.

In June 2021, the Company completed a follow-on public offering of 3,220,000 shares of common stock, which included the full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase an additional 420,000 shares of common stock. Upon closing, the Company issued 3,220,000 shares and received net proceeds of $54.3 million, after deducting the underwriting discount and expenses.

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Debt. On November 26, 2019, the Company and the Operating Partnership entered into a $100.0 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) with affiliates of BMO Capital Markets Corp. and Raymond James Bank, N.A., as initial lenders. On October 16, 2020, the Company executed the second amendment to the Credit Facility (the “Second Amendment”), for the addition of two lenders, Huntington National Bank and Truist Bank. As a result of the Second Amendment, the Credit Facility now has a total borrowing capacity of $150.0 million with the ability to increase that capacity up to $200.0 million during the term, utilizing an accordion feature, subject to lender approval. These funds are available to us for general corporate purposes, including the funding of potential future acquisitions.

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On May 21, 2021, the Operating Partnership, the Company and certain subsidiaries of the Company entered into a credit agreement for a term loan (the “2026 Term Loan”) in an aggregate principal amount of $60.0 million with a maturity of five years. Truist Securities, Inc. is acting as sole lead arranger and sole book runner, with Truist Bank, N.A. as administrative agent. Truist Bank, N.A., Bank of Montreal, Raymond James Bank, N.A. and Stifel Bank are lenders under the 2026 Term Loan. In addition, the Operating Partnership may request up to three incremental term loan commitments in an aggregate amount not to exceed $100.0 million.

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On June 30, 2021, in connection with the acquisition of six net lease properties from CTO (the “CMBS Portfolio”), the Company assumed an existing $30.0 million secured mortgage, which bears interest at a fixed rate of 4.33%. The mortgage note matures in October 2034 and is prepayable without penalty beginning in October 2024. Additionally, on June 30, 2021, in connection with the acquisition of two net lease properties from an unrelated third party, the Company assumed mortgage notes totaling an aggregate of $1.6 million, which balance was repaid on July 1, 2021.

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On September 30, 2021, the Operating Partnership, the Company and certain subsidiaries of the Company entered into a credit agreement for a term loan (the “2027 Term Loan”) in an aggregate principal amount of $80.0 million (the “Term Commitment”) maturing in January 2027. KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Regions Capital Markets, and U.S. Bank National Association acted as joint lead arrangers, with KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc. as sole book runner, and KeyBank National Association as administrative agent. KeyBank National Association, Regions Bank, U.S. Bank National Association, Bank of Montreal, Raymond James Bank, and The Huntington National Bank are lenders under the 2027 Term Loan. In addition, the Operating Partnership may request up to three incremental term loan commitments in an aggregate amount, together with the Term Commitment, not to exceed $200.0 million.

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Market Opportunity

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We believe the net lease property market has expanded steadily over the last several years, and investor demand for net leased properties has continued to gain momentum. Unlike a gross lease, which places the financial responsibility for most expenses with the property owner, the net lease structure shifts the majority or entirety of costs for property taxes,

insurance, maintenance and often utilities and capital expenditures, to the lessee, in addition to rent payments. Net leases are generally executed for an initial term of 10 to 15 years, but 20- and 25-year leases are not uncommon. Lease agreements often include multiple options for the tenant to extend and may include terms for periodic rent increases. Comparatively, multi-tenant commercial real estate properties under gross leases often have average initial lease terms between five and ten years with shorter or fewer options to extend. Rent escalation is also commonly embedded in the net lease terms as a specified percentage increase of existing rent per year or determined by reference to an inflation measure such as the Consumer Price Index. With cash flows that are intended to be passive, stable and paid at regular intervals, net leased real estate is similar, in many ways, to interest-bearing corporate bonds, but with the additional potential for appreciation in the value of the underlying property.

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Investment Strategy

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We seek to acquire, own and operate primarily freestanding, commercial real estate properties located in the United States leased primarily pursuant to triple-net, long-term leases. We focus on investments primarily in retail properties. We target tenants in industries that we believe are favorably impacted by current macroeconomic trends that support consumer spending, such as strong and growing employment and positive consumer sentiment, as well as tenants in industries that have demonstrated resistance to the impact of the growing e-commerce retail sector or who use a physical presence as a component of their omnichannel strategy. We also seek to invest in properties that are net leased to tenants that we determine have attractive credit characteristics, stable operating histories and healthy rent coverage levels, are well-located within their respective markets and have rents at-or-below market rent levels. Furthermore, we believe that the size of our company allows us, for at least the near term, to focus our investment activities on the acquisition of single properties or smaller portfolios of properties that represent a transaction size that most of our publicly-traded net lease REIT peers will not pursue on a consistent basis.

Our strategy for investing in income-producing properties is focused on factors including, but not limited to, long-term real estate fundamentals, including those markets experiencing significant economic growth. We employ a methodology for evaluating targeted investments in income-producing properties which includes an evaluation of: (i) the attributes of the real estate (e.g., location, market demographics, comparable properties in the market, etc.); (ii) an evaluation of the existing tenant(s) (e.g., credit-worthiness, property level sales, tenant rent levels compared to the market, etc.); (iii) other market-specific conditions (e.g., tenant industry, job and population growth in the market, local economy, etc.); and (iv) considerations relating to the Company’s business and strategy (e.g., strategic fit of the asset type, property management needs, alignment with the Company’s structure, etc.).

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We believe that the net leased properties we own and intend to acquire will provide our stockholders with investment diversification and can deliver strong risk-adjusted returns. We expect the majority of our net leased properties will be retail properties. We believe the risk-adjusted returns for other select property types within our portfolio are compelling and offer attractive investment yields, rental rates at or below prevailing market rental rates and an investment basis below replacement cost.

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Property Portfolio

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As of December 31, 2021, the Company owned 113 properties in 32 states. The following is a summary of the relevant leases attributable to these properties:

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Our Manager has the ability to earn an annual incentive fee based on our total stockholder return exceeding an 8% cumulative annual hurdle rate (the “Outperformance Amount”) subject to a high-water mark price. We would pay our Manager an incentive fee with respect to each annual measurement period in the amount of the greater of (i) $0.00 and (ii) the product of (a) 15% multiplied by (b) the Outperformance Amount multiplied by (c) the weighted average shares. No incentive fee was due for the year ended December 31, 2021 or 2020.

The initial term of the Management Agreement will expire on November 26, 2024 and will automatically renew for an unlimited number of successive one-year periods thereafter, unless the agreement is not renewed or is terminated in accordance with its terms.

Our independent directors review our Manager’s performance and the management fees annually and, following the initial term, the Management Agreement may be terminated annually upon the affirmative vote of two-thirds of our independent directors or upon a determination by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock, based upon (i) unsatisfactory performance by the Manager that is materially detrimental to us or (ii) a determination that the management fees payable to our Manager are not fair, subject to our Manager’s right to prevent such termination due to unfair fees by accepting a reduction of management fees agreed to by two-thirds of our independent directors. We may also terminate the Management Agreement for cause at any time, including during the initial term, without the payment of any termination fee, with 30 days’ prior written notice from the Board. During the initial term of the Management Agreement, we may not terminate the Management Agreement except for cause.

We pay directly, or reimburse our Manager for certain expenses, if incurred by our Manager. We do not reimburse any compensation expenses incurred by our Manager or its affiliates. Expense reimbursements to our Manager are made in cash on a quarterly basis following the end of each quarter. In addition, we pay all of our operating expenses, except those specifically required to be borne by our Manager pursuant to the Management Agreement.

ROFO Agreement

On November 26, 2019, PINE also entered into an Exclusivity and Right of First Offer Agreement with CTO (the “ROFO Agreement”). During the term of the ROFO Agreement, CTO will not, and will cause each of its affiliates (which for purposes of the ROFO Agreement will not include our company and our subsidiaries) not to, acquire, directly or indirectly, a single-tenant, net leased property, unless CTO has notified us of the opportunity and we have affirmatively rejected the opportunity to acquire the applicable property or properties.

The terms of the ROFO Agreement do not restrict CTO or any of its affiliates from providing financing for a third party’s acquisition of single-tenant, net leased properties or from developing and owning any single-tenant, net leased property.

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Pursuant to the ROFO Agreement, neither CTO nor any of its affiliates (which for purposes of the ROFO Agreement does not include our company and our subsidiaries) may sell to any third party any single-tenant, net leased property that was owned by CTO or any of its affiliates as of the closing date of the IPO; or that is developed and owned by CTO or any of its affiliates after the closing date of the IPO, without first offering us the right to purchase such property.

The term of the ROFO Agreement will continue for so long as the Management Agreement with our Manager is in effect.

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Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest may exist or could arise in the future with CTO and its affiliates, including our Manager, the individuals who serve as our executive officers and executive officers of CTO, any individual who serves as a director of our company and as a director of CTO and any limited partner of the Operating Partnership. Conflicts may include, without limitation: conflicts arising from the enforcement of agreements between us and CTO or our Manager; conflicts in the amount of time that executive officers and employees of CTO, who are provided to us through our Manager, will spend on our affairs versus CTO’s affairs; and conflicts in future transactions that we may pursue with CTO and its affiliates.

We do not generally expect to enter into joint ventures with CTO, but if we do so, the terms and conditions of our joint venture investment will be subject to the approval of a majority of disinterested directors of the Board.

In addition, we are subject to conflicts of interest arising out of our relationships with our Manager. Pursuant to the Management Agreement, our Manager is obligated to supply us with our senior management team. However, our Manager is not obligated to dedicate any specific CTO personnel exclusively to us, nor are the CTO personnel provided to us by our Manager obligated to dedicate any specific portion of their time to the management of our business. Additionally, our Manager is a wholly owned subsidiary of CTO. All of our executive officers are executive officers and employees of CTO and one of our officers (John P. Albright) is also a member of CTO’s board of directors. As a result, our Manager and the CTO personnel it provides to us may have conflicts between their duties to us and their duties to, and interests in, CTO.

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We may acquire or sell net leased properties that would potentially fit the investment criteria for our Manager or its affiliates. Similarly, our Manager or its affiliates may acquire or sell net leased properties that would potentially fit our investment criteria. Although such acquisitions or dispositions could present conflicts of interest, we nonetheless may pursue and consummate such transactions. Additionally, we may engage in transactions directly with our Manager or its affiliates, including the purchase and sale of all or a portion of a portfolio asset. If we acquire a net leased property from CTO or one of its affiliates or sell a net leased property to CTO or one of its affiliates, the purchase price we pay to CTO or one of its affiliates or the purchase price paid to us by CTO or one of its affiliates may be higher or lower, respectively, than the purchase price that would have been paid to or by us if the transaction were the result of arm’s length negotiations with an unaffiliated third party.

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In deciding whether to issue additional debt or equity securities, we will rely, in part, on recommendations made by our Manager. While such decisions are subject to the approval of the Board, our Manager is entitled to be paid a base management fee that is based on our “total equity” (as defined in the Management Agreement). As a result, our Manager may have an incentive to recommend that we issue additional equity securities at dilutive prices.

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All of our executive officers are executive officers and employees of CTO. These individuals and other CTO personnel provided to us through our Manager devote as much time to us as our Manager deems appropriate. However, our executive officers and other CTO personnel provided to us through our Manager may have conflicts in allocating their time and services between us, on the one hand, and CTO and its affiliates, on the other. During a period of prolonged economic weakness or another economic downturn affecting the real estate industry or at other times when we need focused support and assistance from our Manager and the CTO executive officers and other personnel provided to us through our Manager, we may not receive the necessary support and assistance we require or that we would otherwise receive if we were self-managed.

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Additionally, the ROFO Agreement does contain exceptions to CTO’s exclusivity for opportunities that include only an incidental interest in single-tenant, net leased properties. Accordingly, the ROFO Agreement will not prevent CTO from pursuing certain acquisition opportunities that otherwise satisfy our then-current investment criteria.

Our directors and executive officers have duties to our company under applicable Maryland law in connection with their management of our company. At the same time, PINE GP has fiduciary duties, as the general partner, to the Operating Partnership and to the limited partners under Delaware law in connection with the management of the Operating Partnership. These duties as a general partner to the Operating Partnership and its partners may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and executive officers to us. Unless otherwise provided for in the relevant partnership agreement, Delaware law generally requires a general partner of a Delaware limited partnership to adhere to fiduciary duty standards under which it owes its limited partners the highest duties of loyalty and care and which generally prohibits such general partner from taking any action or engaging in any transaction as to which it has a conflict of interest. The partnership agreement provides that in the event of a conflict between the interests of our stockholders on the one hand and the limited partners of the Operating Partnership on the other hand, PINE GP will endeavor in good faith to resolve the conflict in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners; provided, however, that so long as we own a controlling interest in the Operating Partnership, any such conflict that we, in our sole and absolute discretion, determine cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners of the Operating Partnership shall be resolved in favor of our stockholders, and we shall not be liable for monetary damages for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived by the limited partners in connection with such decisions.

COMPETITION

The real estate business, generally, is highly competitive. We intend to focus on investing in commercial real estate that produces income primarily through the leasing of assets to tenants. To identify investment opportunities in income-producing real estate assets and to achieve our investment objectives, we compete with numerous companies and organizations, both public as well as private, of varying sizes, ranging from organizations with local operations to organizations with national scale and reach, and in some cases, we compete with individual real estate investors. In all the markets in which we compete to acquire net leased properties, price is the principal method of competition, with transaction structure and certainty of execution also being significant considerations for potential sellers. We face competition for acquisitions of real property from investors, including traded and non-traded public REITs, private equity investors and institutional investment funds, some of which have greater financial resources than we do, a greater ability to borrow funds to acquire properties and the ability to accept more risk. This competition may increase the demand for the types of properties in which we typically invest and, therefore, reduce the number of suitable investment opportunities available to us and increase the prices paid for such acquisition properties. This competition will increase if investments in real estate become more attractive relative to other forms of investment.

As a landlord, we compete in the multi-billion-dollar commercial real estate market with numerous developers and owners of properties, many of which own properties similar to ours in the same markets in which our properties are located. Some of our competitors have greater economies of scale, lower costs of capital, access to more resources and greater name recognition than we do. 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 our tenants or prospective tenants and we may be pressured to reduce our rental rates or to offer substantial rent abatements, tenant improvement allowances, early termination rights or below-market renewal options in order to retain tenants when our leases expire.

EMERGING GROWTH COMPANY STATUS

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, and we are eligible to receive certain specified reduced disclosure and other requirements that are otherwise generally applicable to public companies that are not “emerging growth companies,” including, but not limited to, exclusion from the requirement to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We have irrevocably opted-out of the extended transition period afforded to emerging growth companies in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised financial accounting standards. As a result, we will comply with new or revised accounting standards on the same time frames as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

We will remain an “emerging growth company” until the earliest to occur of (i) the last day of the fiscal year during which our total annual gross revenue equals or exceeds $1.07 billion (subject to adjustment for inflation), (ii) December 31, 2024 (the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the IPO), (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities, and (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

We are also a “smaller reporting company” as defined in Regulation S-K under the Securities Act and may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available to smaller reporting companies. We may be a smaller reporting company even after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”

REGULATION

General. Our properties are subject to various laws, ordinances and regulations, including those relating to fire and safety requirements, and affirmative and negative covenants and, in some instances, common area obligations. Our tenants have primary responsibility for compliance with these requirements pursuant to our leases. We believe that each of our properties has the necessary permits and approvals.

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Americans With Disabilities Act. Under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and rules promulgated thereunder, in order to protect individuals with disabilities, public accommodations must remove architectural and communication barriers that are structural in nature from existing places of public accommodation to the extent “readily achievable.” In addition, under the ADA, alterations to a place of public accommodation or a commercial facility are to be made so that, to the maximum extent feasible, such altered portions are readily accessible to and usable by disabled individuals. The “readily achievable” standard considers, among other factors, the financial resources of the affected site and the owner, lessor or other applicable person.

Compliance with the ADA, as well as other federal, state and local laws, may require modifications to properties we currently own or may purchase or may restrict renovations of those properties. Failure to comply with these laws or regulations could result in the imposition of fines or an award of damages to private litigants, as well as the incurrence of the costs of making modifications to attain compliance, and future legislation could impose additional obligations or restrictions on our properties. Although our tenants are generally responsible for all maintenance and repairs of the property pursuant to our lease, including compliance with the ADA and other similar laws or regulations, we could be held liable as the owner of the property for a failure of one of our tenants to comply with these laws or regulations.

ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS

Federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations regulate, and impose liability for, releases of hazardous or toxic substances into the environment. Under various of these laws and regulations, a current or previous owner, operator or tenant of real estate may be required to investigate and clean up hazardous or toxic substances, hazardous wastes or petroleum product releases or threats of releases at the property, and may be held liable to a government entity or to third parties for property damage and for investigation, clean-up and monitoring costs incurred by those parties in connection with the actual or threatened contamination. These laws may impose clean-up responsibility and liability without regard to fault, or whether the owner, operator or tenant knew of or caused the presence of the contamination. The liability under these laws may be joint and several for the full amount of the investigation, clean-up and monitoring costs incurred or to be incurred or actions to be undertaken, although a party held jointly and severally liable may seek to obtain contributions from other identified, solvent, responsible parties of their fair share toward these costs. These costs may be substantial and can exceed the value of the property. In addition, some environmental laws may create a lien on the contaminated site in favor of the government for damages and costs it incurs in connection with the contamination. As the owner or operator of real estate, we may also be liable under common law to third parties for damages and injuries resulting from environmental contamination emanating from the real estate. The presence of contamination, or the failure to properly remediate contamination, on a property may adversely affect the ability of the owner, operator or tenant to sell or rent that property or to borrow using the property as collateral and may adversely impact our investment in that property.

Some of our properties contain, have contained or are adjacent to or near other properties that have contained or currently contain storage tanks for the storage of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances. Similarly, some of our properties were used in the past for commercial or industrial purposes, or are currently used for commercial purposes, that involve or involved the use of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances or are adjacent to or near properties that have been or are used for similar commercial or industrial purposes. These operations create a potential for the release of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances, and we could potentially be required to pay to clean up any contamination. In addition, environmental laws regulate a variety of activities that can occur on a property, including the storage of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances, air emissions, water discharges and exposure to lead-based paint. Such laws may impose fines or penalties for violations and may require permits or other governmental approvals to be obtained for the operation of a business involving such activities. As a result of the foregoing, we could be materially and adversely affected.

Environmental laws also govern the presence, maintenance, and removal of asbestos-containing materials (“ACM”). Federal regulations require building owners and those exercising control over a building’s management to identify and warn, through signs and labels, of potential hazards posed by workplace exposure to installed ACM in their building. The regulations also have employee training, record keeping and due diligence requirements pertaining to ACM. Significant fines can be assessed for violation of these regulations. As a result of these regulations, building owners and those exercising control over a building’s management may be subject to an increased risk of personal injury lawsuits by workers and others exposed to ACM. The regulations may affect the value of a building containing ACM in which we have

invested. Federal, state and local laws and regulations also govern the removal, encapsulation, disturbance, handling and/or disposal of ACM when those materials are in poor condition or in the event of construction, remodeling, renovation or demolition of a building. These laws may impose liability for improper handling or a release into the environment of ACM and may provide for fines to, and for third parties to seek recovery from, owners or operators of real properties for personal injury or improper work exposure associated with ACM.

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 occurs.

We obtain Phase I environmental assessments on all properties acquired. Phase I environmental site assessments are limited in scope and therefore may not reveal all environmental conditions affecting a property. However, if recommended in the initial assessments, we may undertake additional assessments such as soil and/or groundwater samplings or other limited subsurface investigations and ACM or mold surveys to test for substances of concern. A prior owner or operator of a property or historic operations at our properties may have created a material environmental condition that is not known to us or the independent consultants preparing the site assessments. Material environmental conditions may have arisen after the review was completed or may arise in the future, and future laws, ordinances or regulations may impose material additional environmental liability. If environmental concerns are not satisfactorily resolved in any initial or additional assessments, we may obtain environmental insurance policies to insure against potential environmental risk or loss depending on the type of property, the availability and cost of the insurance and various other factors we deem relevant. Our ultimate liability for environmental conditions may exceed the policy limits on any environmental insurance policies we obtain, if any.

Generally, our leases require the lessee to comply with environmental law and provide that the lessee will indemnify us for any loss or expense we incur as a result of the lessee’s violation of environmental law or the presence, use or release of hazardous materials on our property attributable to the lessee. If our lessees do not comply with environmental law, or we are unable to enforce the indemnification obligations of our lessees, our results of operations would be adversely affected.

We cannot predict what other environmental legislation or regulations will be enacted in the future, how existing or future laws or regulations will be administered or interpreted or what environmental conditions may be found to exist on our properties in the future. Compliance with existing and new laws and regulations may require us or our tenants to spend funds to remedy environmental problems. If we or our tenants were to become subject to significant environmental liabilities, we could be materially and adversely affected.

EMPLOYEES

The Company has no employees and is externally managed and advised by our Manager pursuant to the Management Agreement. Our Manager is a wholly owned subsidiary of CTO. All of our executive officers serve as executive officers of CTO, and one of our executive officers and directors, John P. Albright, serves as an executive officer and director of CTO.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

The Company maintains a website at www.alpinereit.com. The Company is providing the address to its website solely for the information of investors. The information on the Company’s website is not a part of, nor is it incorporated by reference into this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Through its website, the Company makes available, free of charge, its

annual proxy statement, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as reasonably practicable after the Company electronically files such material with, or furnishes them to, the SEC. The public may read and obtain a copy of any materials the Company files electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

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ITEM 1A.             RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks summarized below in this Item 1A, “Risk Factors” included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following: 

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Risks Related to Our Business

We are subject to risks related to the ownership of commercial real estate that could affect the performance and value of our properties.

Factors beyond our control can affect the performance and value of our properties. Our core business is the ownership of commercial net leased properties. Accordingly, our performance is subject to risks incident to the ownership of commercial real estate, including:

response to changes in economic or other conditions;

which inhibit interest in the markets in which our properties are located;

competition based on rental rates, age and location of properties and the quality of maintenance, insurance

and management services;

tenants or cause decreases in market rental rates;

which may occur even when circumstances such as market factors and competition cause a reduction in our revenues;

costs of compliance with laws and regulations, fiscal policies and ordinances including in response to global pandemics whereby our tenants’ businesses are forced to close or remain open on a limited basis only; and

The occurrence of any of the risks described above may cause the performance and value of our properties to decline, which could materially and adversely affect us.

Adverse changes in U.S., global and local regions or markets that impact our tenants’ businesses may materially and adversely affect us generally and the ability of our tenants to make rental payments to us pursuant to our leases.

Our results of operations, as well as the results of operations of our tenants, are sensitive to changes in U.S., global and local regions or markets that impact our tenants’ businesses. Adverse changes or developments in U.S., global or regional economic conditions may impact our tenants’ financial condition, which may adversely impact their ability to make rental payments to us pursuant to the leases they have with us and may also impact their current or future leasing practices. Adverse economic conditions such as high unemployment levels, rising interest rates, increased tax rates and increasing fuel and energy costs may have an impact on the results of operations and financial conditions of our tenants, which would likely adversely impact us. During periods of economic slowdown and declining demand for real estate, we may experience a general decline in rents or increased rates of default under our leases. A lack of demand for rental space could adversely affect our ability to maintain our current tenants and gain new tenants, which may affect our growth, profitability and ability to pay dividends.

Our business is dependent upon our tenants successfully operating their businesses, and their failure to do so could materially and adversely affect us.

Most of our properties are occupied by a single tenant. Therefore, the success of our investments in these properties is materially dependent upon the performance of each property’s respective tenants. The financial performance of any one of our tenants is dependent on the tenant’s individual business, its industry and, in many instances, the performance of a larger business network that the tenant may be affiliated with or operate under. The financial performance of any one of our tenants could be adversely affected by poor management, unfavorable economic conditions in general, changes in consumer trends and preferences that decrease demand for a tenant’s products or services or other factors, including the impact of a global pandemic which affects the United States, over which neither they nor we have control. Our portfolio includes properties leased to single tenants that operate in multiple locations, which means we own multiple properties operated by the same tenant. To the extent we own multiple properties operated by one tenant, the general failure of that single tenant or a loss or significant decline in its business could materially and adversely affect us.

At any given time, any tenant may experience a decline in its business that may weaken its operating results or the overall financial condition of individual properties or its business as a whole. Any such decline may result in our tenant failing to make rental payments when due, declining to extend a lease upon its expiration, delaying occupancy of our property or the commencement of the lease or becoming insolvent or declaring bankruptcy. We depend on our tenants to operate their businesses at the properties we own in a manner which generates revenues sufficient to allow them to meet their obligations to us, including their obligations to pay rent, maintain certain insurance coverage, pay real estate taxes, make repairs and otherwise maintain our properties. The ability of our tenants to fulfill their obligations under our leases may depend, in part, upon the overall profitability of their operations. Cash flow generated by certain tenant businesses may not be sufficient for a tenant to meet its obligations to us pursuant to the applicable lease. We could be materially and

adversely affected if a tenant representing a significant portion of our operating results or a number of our tenants were unable to meet their obligations to us.

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Our assessment that certain of our tenants’ businesses are insulated from e-commerce pressure may prove to be incorrect, and changes in macroeconomic trends may adversely affect our tenants, either of which could impair our tenants’ ability to make rental payments to us and thereby materially and adversely affect us.

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We invest in properties leased, in many instances, to tenants engaged in businesses that we believe are generally insulated from the impact of e-commerce. While we believe our assessment to be accurate, businesses previously thought to be resistant to the pressure of the increasing level of e-commerce have ultimately been proven to be susceptible to competition from e-commerce. Overall business conditions and the impact of technology, particularly in the retail industry, are rapidly changing, and our tenants may be adversely affected by technological innovation, changing consumer preferences and competition from non-traditional sources. To the extent our tenants face increased competition from non-traditional competitors, such as internet vendors, their businesses could suffer. There can be no assurance that our tenants will be successful in meeting any new competition, and a deterioration in our tenants’ businesses could impair their ability to meet their lease obligations to us and thereby materially and adversely affect us.

Additionally, we believe that many of the businesses operated by our tenants are benefiting from current favorable macroeconomic trends that support consumer spending, such as strong and growing employment levels, a relatively low interest rate environment and positive consumer sentiment. Economic conditions are generally cyclical, and developments that discourage consumer spending, such as increasing unemployment, wage stagnation, decreases in the value of real estate, inflation or increasing interest rates, could adversely affect our tenants, impair their ability to meet their lease obligations to us and materially and adversely affect us.

Properties occupied by a single tenant pursuant to a single lease subject us to significant risk of tenant default.

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Most of our properties are occupied by a single tenant. Therefore, the financial failure of, or default in payment by, a tenant under its lease is likely to cause a significant or complete reduction in our rental revenue from that property and possibly a reduction in the value of the property. We may also experience difficulty or a significant delay in re-leasing or selling such property. This risk is magnified in situations where we lease multiple properties to a single tenant and the financial failure of the tenant’s business affects more than a single property. A failure or default by such a tenant could reduce or eliminate rental revenue from multiple properties and reduce the value of such properties, which could materially and adversely affect us.

We may experience a decline in the fair value of our real estate assets which could result in impairments and would impact our financial condition and results of operations.

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A decline in the fair market value of our long-lived assets may require us to recognize an impairment against such assets (as defined by Financial Accounting Standards Board, or the FASB, authoritative accounting guidance) if certain conditions or circumstances related to an asset were to change and we were to determine that, with respect to any such asset, that the cash flows no longer support the carrying value of the asset. The fair value of our long-lived assets depends on market conditions, including estimates of future demand for these assets, and the revenues that can be generated from such assets. If such a determination were to be made, we would recognize the estimated unrealized losses through earnings and write down the depreciated cost of such assets to a new cost basis, based on the fair value of such assets on the date they are considered to be impaired. Such impairment charges reflect non-cash losses at the time of recognition, and subsequent dispositions or sales of such assets could further affect our future losses or gains, as they are based on the difference between the sales price received and the adjusted depreciated cost of such assets at the time of sale.

Our portfolio has geographic market concentrations that make us susceptible to adverse developments in those geographic markets.

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In addition to general, regional, national, and global economic conditions, our operating performance is impacted by the economic conditions of the specific geographic markets in which we have concentrations of properties. Our portfolio includes substantial holdings in Texas as of December 31, 2021 (based on annualized base rent). Our geographic

concentrations could adversely affect our operating performance if conditions become less favorable in any of the states or markets within such states in which we have a concentration of properties. Such geographic concentrations could be heightened by the fact that our investments may be concentrated in certain areas that are affected by COVID-19 more than other areas. We cannot assure you that any of our markets will grow, not experience adverse developments or that underlying real estate fundamentals will be favorable to owners and operators of commercial properties. Our operations may also be affected if competing properties are built in our markets. A downturn in the economy in the states or regions in which we have a concentration of properties, or markets within such states or regions, could adversely affect our tenants operating businesses in those states or regions, impair their ability to pay rent to us and thereby, materially and adversely affect us.

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We are subject to risks related to tenant concentration, and an adverse development with respect to a large tenant could materially and adversely affect us.

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As of December 31, 2021, on an annualized basis, Wells Fargo, our largest tenant, contributed 12% of our total revenue. Our financial performance depends significantly on the financial condition of this tenant. In the future, we may have additional tenant and property concentrations. In the event that one of these tenants, or another tenant that occupies a significant number of our properties or whose lease payments represent a significant portion of our rental revenue, were to experience financial difficulty or file for bankruptcy, it could have a material adverse effect on us.

Certain of our tenants are not rated by a recognized credit rating agency or do not have an investment grade rating from such an agency. Leases with unrated or non-investment grade rated tenants may be subject to a greater risk of default.

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As of December 31, 2021, 55% of our tenants or parent entities thereof (based on annualized straight-line base rent) were not rated or did not have an investment grade credit rating from a recognized rating agency. Leases with non-investment grade or unrated tenants may be subject to a greater risk of default. Unrated tenants or non-investment grade tenants may also be more likely to experience financial weakness or file for bankruptcy than tenants with investment grade credit ratings. When we consider the acquisition of a property with an in-place lease with an unrated or non-investment grade rated tenant or leasing a property to a tenant that does not have a credit rating or does not have an investment grade rating, we evaluate the strength of the proposed tenant’s business at the property level and at a corporate level, if applicable, and may consider the risk of tenant/company insolvency using internally developed methodologies or assessments provided by third parties. If our evaluation of an unrated or non-investment grade tenant’s creditworthiness is inaccurate, the default or bankruptcy risk related to the tenant may be greater than anticipated. In the event that any of our unrated tenants were to experience financial weakness or file for bankruptcy, it could have a material adverse effect on us.

The decrease in demand for retail space may materially and adversely affect us.

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As of December 31, 2021, leases representing 92% of the annualized straight-line base rent of our initial portfolio were with tenants operating retail businesses. In the future, we intend to acquire additional properties leased to a single tenant operating a retail business at the property. Accordingly, decreases in the demand for leasing retail space may have a greater adverse effect on us than if we had fewer investments in retail properties. The market for leasing of retail space has historically been adversely affected by weakness in the national, regional and local economies, the adverse financial condition of some large retail companies, consolidation in the retail industry, the excess amount of retail space in a number of markets and increasing e-commerce pressure. To the extent that adverse conditions arise or continue, they are likely to negatively affect market rents for retail space and could materially and adversely affect us.

We may be unable to renew leases, lease vacant space or re-lease space as leases expire on favorable terms or at all.

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Our results of operations depend on our ability to lease our properties, including renewing expiring leases, leasing vacant space and re-leasing space in properties where leases are expiring, and leasing space related to new project development. In leasing or re-leasing our properties, we may be unable to optimize our tenant mix or execute leases on more economically favorable terms than the prior in-place lease. Our tenants may decline, or may not have the financial resources available, to renew their leases, and there can be no assurance that leases that are renewed will have terms that

are as economically favorable to us as the expiring lease terms. If tenants do not renew their leases as they expire, we will have to source new tenants to lease our properties, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to find new tenants or that our properties will be re-leased at rental rates equal to or above the previous in-place lease or current average rental rates or that substantial rent abatements, tenant improvement allowances, early termination rights or below-market renewal options will not be offered to attract new tenants. We may experience increased costs in connection with re-leasing our properties, which could materially and adversely affect us.

Certain provisions of our leases may be unenforceable.

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Our rights and obligations with respect to our leases are governed by written agreements. A court could determine that one or more provisions of such an agreement are unenforceable. We could be adversely impacted if this were to happen with respect to a property or group of properties.

The bankruptcy or insolvency of any of our tenants could result in the termination of such tenant’s lease and material losses to us.

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The occurrence of a tenant bankruptcy or insolvency would likely diminish the income we receive from that tenant’s lease or leases or force us to re-tenant a property as a result of a default of the in-place tenant or a rejection of a tenant lease by a bankruptcy court. If a tenant files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent, federal law may prohibit us from evicting such tenant based solely upon such bankruptcy or insolvency. In addition, a bankrupt or insolvent tenant may be authorized to reject and terminate its lease or leases with us. Any claims against such bankrupt tenant for unpaid rent or future rent would be subject to statutory limitations that would likely result in our receipt of rental revenues that are substantially less than the contractually specified rent we are owed under the lease or leases. In addition, any claim we have for unpaid past rent, if any, may not be paid in full. We may also be unable to re-lease a property in which the in-place lease was not terminated or rejected or to re-lease it on comparable or more favorable terms. As a result, tenant bankruptcies or insolvencies may materially and adversely affect us.

We may not acquire the properties that we evaluate in our pipeline.

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We will generally seek to maintain a robust pipeline of investment opportunities. Transactions may fail to close for a variety of reasons, including the discovery of previously unknown liabilities or other items uncovered during our diligence process. Similarly, we may never execute binding purchase agreements with respect to properties that are currently subject to non-binding letters of intent, and properties with respect to which we are negotiating may never lead to the execution of any letter of intent. For many other reasons, we may not ultimately acquire the properties in our pipeline.

As we continue to acquire properties, we may decrease or fail to increase the diversity of our portfolio.

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While we will seek to maintain or increase our portfolio’s tenant, geographic and industry diversification with future acquisitions, it is possible that we may determine to consummate one or more acquisitions that actually decrease our portfolio’s diversity. If our portfolio becomes less diverse, our business will be more sensitive to tenant or market factors, including the bankruptcy or insolvency of tenants, to changes in consumer trends of a particular industry and to a general economic downturn or downturns in a market or particular geographic area.

We may obtain only limited warranties when we acquire a property and may only have limited recourse if our due diligence did not identify any issues that may subject us to unknown liabilities or lower the value of our property, which could adversely affect our financial condition and ability to make distributions to you.

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The seller of a property often sells the property in its “as is” condition on a “where is” basis and “with all faults,” without any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use or purpose. In addition, purchase agreements may contain only limited warranties, representations and indemnifications that will survive for only a limited period after the closing. The acquisition of, or purchase of, properties with limited warranties increases the risk that we may lose some or all of our invested capital in the property, lose rental income from that property or may be subject to unknown liabilities with respect to such properties.

The tenants that occupy our properties compete in industries that depend upon discretionary spending by consumers. A reduction in the willingness or ability of consumers to use their discretionary income in the businesses of our tenants and potential tenants could adversely impact our tenants’ business and thereby adversely impact our ability to collect rents and reduce the demand for leasing our properties.

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Certain properties in our portfolio are leased to tenants operating retail, service-oriented or experience-based businesses. General merchandise, financial services, hospitality, home furnishings and entertainment represent a significant portion of the industries in our portfolio. The success of most of the tenants operating businesses in these industries depends on consumer demand and, more specifically, the willingness of consumers to use their discretionary income to purchase products or services from our tenants. The ability of consumers to use their discretionary income may be impacted by issues including a global pandemic that impacts the United States. A prolonged period of economic weakness, another downturn in the U.S. economy or accelerated dislocation of these industries due to the impact of e-commerce, could cause consumers to reduce their discretionary spending in general or spending at these locations in particular, which could have a material and adverse effect on us.

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The vacancy of one or more of our properties could result in us having to incur significant capital expenditures to re-tenant the space.

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The loss of a tenant, either through lease expiration or tenant bankruptcy or insolvency, may require us to spend significant amounts of capital to renovate the property before it is suitable for a new tenant and cause us to incur significant costs to source new tenants. In many instances, the leases we enter into or assume through acquisition are for properties that are specifically suited to the particular business of our tenants. Because these properties have been designed or physically modified for a particular tenant, if the current lease is terminated or not renewed, we may be required to renovate the property at substantial costs, decrease the rent we charge or provide other concessions in order to lease the property to another tenant. In addition, in the event we decide to sell the property, we may have difficulty selling it to a party other than the tenant due to the special purpose for which the property may have been designed or modified. This potential limitation on our ability to sell a property may limit our ability to quickly modify our portfolio in response to changes in our tenants’ business prospects, economic or other conditions, including tenant demand. These limitations may materially and adversely affect us.

We may be unable to identify and complete suitable property acquisitions or developments, which may impede our growth, and our future acquisitions and developments may not yield the returns we expect.

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Our ability to expand through acquisitions and developments requires us to identify and complete acquisitions and new property developments that are consistent with our investment and growth strategy and our investment criteria and to successfully integrate newly acquired properties into our portfolio. Our Manager continually evaluates investment opportunities for us, but our ability to acquire or develop new properties on favorable terms and successfully operate them may be constrained by the following significant risks:

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If any of these risks are realized, we may be materially and adversely affected.

We may be unable to complete acquisitions of properties owned by CTO that are covered by the ROFO Agreement, and any completed acquisitions of such properties may not yield the returns we expect.

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Although the ROFO Agreement provides us with a right of first offer with respect to certain single-tenant, net leased properties owned by CTO, there can be no assurance that CTO will elect to sell these properties in the future. Even if CTO elects to sell these properties in the future, we may be unable to reach an agreement with CTO on the terms of the purchase of such properties or may not have the funds or ability to finance the purchase of such properties. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will be able to acquire any properties covered by the ROFO Agreement in the future. Further, even if we are able to acquire properties covered by the ROFO Agreement, there is no guarantee that such properties will be able to maintain their historical performance, or that we will be able to realize the same returns from those properties as CTO.

We face significant competition for tenants, which may adversely impact the occupancy levels of our portfolio or prevent increases of the rental rates of our properties.

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We compete with numerous developers, owners and operators of net leased properties, many of which are much larger and own properties similar to ours in the same markets in which our properties are located. The size and financial wherewithal of our competitors may allow them to offer space at rental rates below current market rates or below the rental rates we charge our tenants. As a result, we may lose existing tenants or fail to obtain future tenants, and the downward pressure caused by these other owners, operators and developers may cause us to reduce our rental rates or to offer more substantial rent abatements, tenant improvements, early termination rights or below-market renewal options in order to retain tenants when our leases expire. Competition for tenants could adversely impact the occupancy levels of our portfolio or prevent increases of the rental rates of our properties, which could materially and adversely affect us.

Inflation may materially and adversely affect us and our tenants.

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Increased inflation could have an adverse impact on interest rates, which would likely negatively impact the cost of any variable rate debt that we obtain in the future. During times when inflation is increasing at a greater rate than the increases in rent provided by our leases, our rent levels will not keep up with the costs associated with rising inflation. Increased costs may have an adverse impact on our tenants if increases in their operating expenses exceed increases they might achieve in revenues, which may adversely affect the tenants’ ability to pay rent owed to us.

The redevelopment or renovation of our properties may cause us to experience unexpected costs and have other risks that could materially and adversely affect us.

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We may in the future redevelop, significantly renovate or otherwise invest additional capital in our properties to improve them and enhance the opportunity for achieving attractive risk-adjusted returns. These activities are subject to a number of risks, including risks associated with construction work and risks of cost overruns due to construction delays or other factors that may increase the expected costs of a project. In addition, we may incur costs in connection with projects that are ultimately not pursued to completion. Any of our redevelopment or renovation projects may be financed. If such financing is not available on acceptable terms, our redevelopment and renovation activities may not be pursued or may be curtailed. In addition, such activities would likely reduce the available borrowing capacity on the Credit Facility or any

other credit facilities that we may have in place in the future, which would limit our ability to use those sources of capital for the acquisition of properties and other operating needs. The risks associated with redevelopment and renovation activities, including but not necessarily limited to those noted above, could materially and adversely affect us.

Our real estate investments are generally illiquid, which could significantly affect our ability to respond to market changes or adverse changes relating to our tenants or in the performance of our properties.

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The real estate investments made, and expected to be made, by us are relatively difficult for us to sell quickly. As a result, our ability to make rapid adjustments in the size and content of our portfolio in response to economic or other conditions will be limited. Illiquid assets typically experience greater price volatility, as a ready market does not exist, and can be more difficult to value. In addition, validating third party pricing for illiquid assets may be more subjective than more liquid assets. As a result, if we are required to quickly liquidate all or a portion of our portfolio, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we have previously recorded our assets.

In addition, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (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, which may materially and adversely affect us.

We may not be able to dispose of properties we target for sale to recycle our capital.

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Although we may seek to selectively sell properties to recycle our capital, we may be unable to sell properties targeted for disposition due to adverse market or other conditions, or not achieve the pricing or timing that is consistent with our expectations. This may adversely affect, among other things, our ability to deploy capital into the acquisition of other properties and the execution of our overall operating strategy, which could, consequently, materially and adversely affect us.

The development of new projects and/or properties may cause us to experience unexpected costs and have other risks that could materially and adversely affect us.

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We may develop new projects to enhance the opportunity for achieving attractive risk-adjusted returns. New project development is subject to a number of risks, including risks associated with the availability and timely receipt of zoning and other regulatory approvals, the timely completion of construction (including risks from factors beyond our control, such as weather, labor conditions or material shortages) and risks of cost overruns due to construction delays or other factors that may increase the expected costs of a project. These risks could result in substantial unanticipated delays and, under certain circumstances, provide a tenant the opportunity to delay rent commencement, reduce rent or terminate a lease. In addition, we may incur costs in connection with projects that are ultimately not pursued to completion. Any new development projects may be financed. If such financing is not available on acceptable terms, our development activities may not be pursued or may be curtailed. In addition, such activities would likely reduce the available borrowing capacity on the revolving credit facility or any other credit facilities that we may have in place in the future, which would limit our ability to use those sources of capital for the acquisition of properties and other operating needs. The risks associated with new project development activities, including but not necessarily limited to those noted above, could materially and adversely affect us.

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The success of our activities related to new project development in which we will retain an ownership interest is partly dependent on the availability of suitable undeveloped land at acceptable prices.

 Our success in developing projects that we will retain an ownership interest in is partly dependent upon the availability of undeveloped land suitable for the intended development. The availability of undeveloped land for purchase at acceptable prices depends on a number of factors outside of our control, including the risk of competitive over-bidding on land and governmental regulations that restrict the potential uses of land. If the availability of suitable land opportunities decreases,

the number of development projects we may be able to undertake could be reduced. Thus, the lack of availability of suitable land opportunities could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and growth prospects.

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Risks Related to Certain Events, Environmental Matters and Climate Change

Natural disasters, terrorist attacks, other acts of violence or war or other unexpected events could materially and adversely affect us.

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Natural disasters, terrorist attacks, other acts of violence or war or other unexpected events, including a global pandemic that impacts the economy in the United States, could materially interrupt our business operations (or those of our tenants), cause consumer confidence and spending to decrease or result in increased volatility in the U.S. and worldwide financial markets and economies. They also could result in or prolong an economic recession. Any of these occurrences could materially and adversely affect us.

In addition, our corporate headquarters and certain of our properties are located in Florida, where major hurricanes have occurred. Depending on where any hurricane makes landfall, our properties in Florida could experience significant damage. In addition, the occurrence and frequency of hurricanes in Florida could also negatively impact demand for our properties located in that state because of consumer perceptions of hurricane risks. In addition to hurricanes, the occurrence of other natural disasters and climate conditions in Florida (and in other states where our properties are located), such as tornadoes, floods, fires, unusually heavy or prolonged rain, droughts and heat waves, could have an adverse effect on our tenants, which could adversely impact our ability to collect rental revenues. If a hurricane, earthquake, natural disaster or other similar significant disruption occurs, we may experience disruptions to our operations and damage to our properties, which could materially and adversely affect us.

Terrorist attacks or other acts of violence may also negatively affect our operations. There can be no assurance that there will not be terrorist attacks against businesses within the U.S. These attacks may directly impact our physical assets or business operations or the financial condition of our tenants, lenders or other institutions with which we have a relationship. The U.S. may be engaged in armed conflict, which could also have an impact on the tenants, lenders or other institutions with which we have a relationship. The consequences of armed conflict are unpredictable, and we may not be able to foresee events that could have an adverse effect on our business. Any of these occurrences could materially and adversely affect us.

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Insurance on our properties may not adequately cover all losses and uninsured losses could materially and adversely affect us.

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Our leases typically provide that either the landlord or the tenant will maintain property and liability insurance for the properties that are leased from us. If our tenants are required to carry liability and/or property insurance coverage, our tenants are required to name us (and any of our lenders that have a mortgage on the property leased by the tenant) as additional insureds on their liability policies and additional named insured and/or loss payee (or mortgagee, in the case of our lenders) on their property policies. Depending on the location of the property, losses of a catastrophic nature, such as those caused by hurricanes, earthquakes and floods, may be covered by insurance policies that are held by our tenant with limitations such as large deductibles or co-payments that a tenant may not be able to meet. In addition, losses of a catastrophic nature, such as those caused by wind, hail, hurricanes, terrorism or acts of war, may be uninsurable or not economically insurable. In the event there is damage to our properties that is not covered by insurance and such properties are subject to recourse indebtedness, we will continue to be liable for the indebtedness, even if these properties are irreparably damaged.

Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors, including terrorism or acts of war, may make any insurance proceeds we receive insufficient to repair or replace a property if it is damaged or destroyed. In those circumstances, the insurance proceeds received may not be adequate to restore our economic position with respect to the affected real property and its generation of rental revenue. Furthermore, in the event we experience a substantial or comprehensive loss of one of our properties, we may not be able to rebuild such property to its existing specifications without significant capital expenditures which may exceed any amounts received pursuant to insurance policies, as reconstruction or improvement of such a property would likely require significant upgrades to meet

zoning and building code requirements. The loss of our capital investment in or anticipated future returns from our properties due to material uninsured losses could materially and adversely affect us.

The costs of compliance with or liabilities related to environmental laws may materially and adversely affect us.

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The ownership of our properties may subject us to known and unknown environmental liabilities. 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 environmental matters, including the presence or discharge of hazardous or toxic substances, waste or petroleum products at, on, in, under or migrating from such property, as well as costs to investigate or clean up such contamination and liability for personal injury, property damage or harm to natural resources. We may face liability regardless of:

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There may be environmental liabilities associated with our properties of which we are unaware. We obtain Phase I environmental assessments on all properties acquired. Phase I environmental site assessments are limited in scope and therefore may not reveal all environmental conditions affecting a property. Therefore, there could be undiscovered environmental liabilities on the properties we own. Some of our properties use, or may have used in the past, underground tanks for the storage of petroleum-based products or waste products that could create a potential for release of hazardous substances or penalties if tanks do not comply with legal standards. If environmental contamination exists on our properties, we could be subject to strict, joint and/or several liability for the contamination by virtue of our ownership interest. Some of our properties may contain asbestos-containing materials, or ACM. Environmental laws govern the presence, maintenance and removal of ACM and such laws may impose fines, penalties or other obligations for failure to comply with these requirements or expose us to third-party liability (for example, liability for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos). Environmental laws also apply to other activities that can occur on a property, such as storage of petroleum products or other hazardous toxic substances, air emissions, water discharges and exposure to lead-based paint. Such laws may impose fines and penalties for violations and may require permits or other governmental approvals to be obtained for the operation of a business involving such activities.

The known or potential presence of hazardous substances on a property may adversely affect our ability to sell, lease or improve the property or to borrow using the property as collateral. In addition, environmental laws may create liens on contaminated properties 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 they may be used or businesses may be operated, and these restrictions may require substantial expenditures.

In addition, although our leases generally require our tenants to operate in compliance with all applicable laws and to indemnify us against any environmental liabilities arising from a tenant’s activities on the property, we could be subject to strict liability by virtue of our ownership interest. We cannot be sure that our tenants will, or will be able to, satisfy their indemnification obligations, if any, under our leases. Furthermore, the discovery of environmental liabilities on any of our properties could lead to significant remediation costs or to other liabilities or obligations attributable to the tenant of that property or could result in material interference with the ability of our tenants to operate their businesses as currently operated. Noncompliance with environmental laws or discovery of environmental liabilities could each individually or collectively affect such tenant’s ability to make payments to us, including rental payments and, where applicable, indemnification payments.

Our environmental liabilities may include property and natural resources damage, personal injury, investigation and clean-up costs, among other potential environmental liabilities. These costs could be substantial. Although we may obtain insurance for environmental liability for certain properties that are deemed to warrant coverage, our insurance may be insufficient to address any particular environmental situation and we may be unable to continue to obtain insurance for environmental matters, at a reasonable cost or at all, in the future. If our environmental liability insurance is inadequate, we may become subject to material losses for environmental liabilities. Our ability to receive the benefits of any

environmental liability insurance policy will depend on the financial stability of our insurance company and the position it takes with respect to our insurance policies. If we were to become subject to significant environmental liabilities, we could be materially and adversely affected.

Our properties may contain or develop harmful mold, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects and costs of remediation.

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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. Concern about indoor exposure to mold has been increasing, as exposure to mold may cause a variety of adverse health effects and symptoms, including allergic or other reactions. As a result, should our tenants or their employees or customers be exposed to mold at any of our properties, we could be required to undertake a costly remediation program to contain or remove the mold from the affected property. In addition, exposure to mold by our tenants or others could subject us to liability if property damage or health concerns arise. If we were to become subject to significant mold-related liabilities, we could be materially and adversely affected.

Our operations and financial condition may be adversely affected by climate change, including possible changes in weather patterns, weather-related events, government policy, laws, regulations and economic conditions.

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In recent years, the assessment of the potential impact of climate change has begun to impact the activities of government authorities, the pattern of consumer behavior and other areas that impact the business environment in the U.S., including, but not limited to, energy-efficiency measures, water use measures and land-use practices. The promulgation of policies, laws or regulations relating to climate change by governmental authorities in the U.S. and the markets in which we own properties may require us to invest additional capital in our properties. In addition, the impact of climate change on businesses operated by our tenants is not reasonably determinable at this time. While not generally known at this time, climate change may impact weather patterns or the occurrence of significant weather events which could impact economic activity or the value of our properties in specific markets. The occurrence of any of these events or conditions may adversely impact our ability to lease our properties, which would materially and adversely affect us.

Risks Related to Other Aspects of our Operation and as a Public Company

We are highly dependent on information systems and certain third-party technology service providers, and systems failures not related to cyber-attacks or similar external attacks could significantly disrupt our business, which may, in turn, negatively affect the market price of our common stock and adversely impact our results of operations and cash flows.

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Our business is highly dependent on communications and information systems and networks. Any failure or interruption of these systems or networks could cause delays or other problems in our operations and communications. Through our relationship with CTO and our Manager, we rely heavily on CTO’s financial, accounting and other data processing systems. In addition, much of the information technology infrastructure on which we rely is or may be managed by third parties and, as such, we also face the risk of operational failure, termination or capacity constraints by any of these third parties. It is difficult to determine what, if any, negative impact may directly result from any specific interruption or disruption of the networks or systems on which our business relies or any failure to maintain performance, reliability and security of our technological infrastructure, but significant events impacting the systems or networks on which our business relies could materially and adversely affect us.

Our senior management team is required to operate two publicly traded companies, CTO and our company, which could place a significant strain on our senior management team and the management systems, infrastructure and other resources of CTO on which we rely.

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Our senior management team operates two publicly traded companies, our company and CTO, and is required to comply with periodic and current reporting requirements under applicable SEC regulations and comply with applicable listing standards of the NYSE. This could place a significant strain on our senior management team and the management systems, infrastructure and other resources of CTO made available to us through our Manager and on which we rely. There

can be no assurance that our senior management team will be able to successfully operate two publicly traded companies. Any failure by our senior management team to successfully operate our company or CTO could materially and adversely affect us.

If there are deficiencies in our disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting, we may be unable to accurately present our financial statements, which could materially and adversely affect us.

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As a publicly traded company, we are required to report our financial statements on a consolidated basis. Effective internal controls are necessary for us to accurately report our financial results. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act will require us to evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting. However, for as long as we are an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We could be an “emerging growth company” through December 31, 2024 (the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the IPO). An independent assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls could detect problems that our management’s assessment might not. There can be no guarantee that our internal control over financial reporting will be effective in accomplishing all control objectives all of the time. Furthermore, as we grow our business, our internal controls will become more complex, and we may require significantly more resources to ensure our internal controls remain effective. Future deficiencies, including any material weakness, in our internal control over financial reporting which may occur could result in misstatements of our results of operations that could require a restatement, failing to meet our public company reporting obligations and causing investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could materially and adversely affect us.

Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and fire, safety and other regulations may require us to make unanticipated expenditures that materially and adversely affect us.

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Our properties are and will be subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA. Under the ADA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Compliance with the ADA requirements could require removal of access barriers and non-compliance could result in imposition of fines by the U.S. government or an award of damages to private litigants, or both. While our tenants are and will be obligated by law to comply with the ADA and typically obligated under our leases to cover costs associated with compliance, if required changes involve greater expenditures than anticipated or if the changes must be made on a more accelerated basis than anticipated, the ability of our tenants to cover costs could be adversely affected. We could be required to expend our own funds to comply with the provisions of the ADA, which could materially and adversely affect us.

In addition, we are and will be required to operate our properties in compliance with fire and safety regulations, building codes and other land use regulations, as they may be adopted by governmental agencies and bodies and become applicable to our properties. We may be required to make substantial capital expenditures to comply with those requirements and may be required to obtain approvals from various authorities with respect to our properties, including prior to acquiring a property or when undertaking renovations of any of our existing properties. 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, developments or renovations, or that additional regulations will not be adopted that increase such delays or result in additional costs. Additionally, failure to comply with any of these requirements could result in the imposition of fines by governmental authorities or awards of damages to private litigants. While we intend to only acquire properties that we believe are currently in substantial compliance with all regulatory requirements, these requirements may change, and new requirements may be imposed which would require significant unanticipated expenditures by us and could materially and adversely affect us.

We have in the past and may in the future choose to acquire properties or portfolios of properties through tax deferred contribution transactions, which could result in stockholder dilution and limit our ability to sell such assets.

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We have in the past acquired, and may in the future acquire, properties or portfolios of properties through tax deferred contribution transactions in exchange for common or preferred units of limited partnership interest in the 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 could 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 could limit our ability to sell an asset at a time, or on terms, that would be favorable absent such restrictions.

Risks Related to Our Relationship with CTO and Our Manager and the Management Agreement

We have no employees and are entirely dependent upon our Manager for all the services we require, and we cannot assure you that our Manager will allocate the resources necessary to meet our business objectives.

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Because we are “externally managed,” we do not employ our own personnel, but instead depend upon CTO, our Manager and their affiliates for virtually all of the services we require. Our Manager selects and manages the acquisition of properties that meet our investment criteria; administers the collection of rents, monitors lease compliance by our tenants and deals with vacancies and re-letting of our properties; coordinates the sale of our properties; provides financial and regulatory reporting services; communicates with our stockholders, causes us to pay distributions to our stockholders and arranges for transfer agent services; and provides all of our other administrative services. Accordingly, our success is largely dependent upon the expertise and services of the executive officers and other personnel of CTO provided to us through our Manager.

CTO may be unable to obtain or retain the executive officers and other personnel that it provides to us through our Manager.

Our success depends to a significant degree upon the executive officers and other personnel of CTO that it provides to us through our Manager. In particular, we rely on the services of John P. Albright, President and Chief Executive Officer of our company and CTO and a member of the board of directors of our company and CTO; Matthew M. Partridge, Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of our company and CTO; Steven R. Greathouse, Senior Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of our company and CTO; and Daniel E. Smith, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of our company and CTO. In addition to these executive officers, we also rely on other personnel of CTO that are provided to us through our Manager. We cannot guarantee that all, or any particular one of these executive officers and other personnel of CTO provided to us through our Manager, will remain affiliated with CTO, our Manager and us. We do not separately maintain key person life insurance on any person. Failure by CTO to retain any of its executive officers and other personnel provided to us through our Manager and to hire and retain additional highly skilled managerial, operational and marketing personnel could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment growth objectives and could result in us incurring excess costs and suffering deficiencies in our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal control over financial reporting.

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We pay substantial fees and expenses to our Manager. These payments increase the risk that you will not earn a profit on your investment.

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Pursuant to the Management Agreement, we pay significant fees to our Manager. Those fees include a base management fee and an incentive fee, if earned. We will also reimburse our Manager for certain expenses pursuant to the Management Agreement. These payments increase the risk that you will not earn a profit on your investment.

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The base management fee payable to our Manager pursuant to the Management Agreement is payable regardless of the performance of our portfolio, which may reduce our Manager’s incentive to devote the time and effort to seeking profitable investment opportunities for us.

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We pay our Manager a base management fee pursuant to the Management Agreement, which may be substantial, based on our “total equity” (as defined in the Management Agreement) regardless of the performance of our portfolio of properties. Our Manager’s entitlement to non-performance-based compensation might reduce its incentive to seek profitable investment opportunities for us, which could result in a lower performance of our portfolio and materially adversely affect us.

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