Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. - Annual Report: 2014 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2014

or

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission file number 001-35908

ARMADA HOFFLER PROPERTIES, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code (757) 366-4000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act.    Yes  ¨    No  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

As of June 30, 2014, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $183.5 million, based on the closing sales price of $9.68 per share as reported on the New York Stock Exchange. (For purposes of this calculation all of the registrant’s directors and executive officers are deemed affiliates of the registrant.)

As of March 13, 2015, the registrant had 25,081,267 shares of common stock outstanding.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Portions of the registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement relating to its 2015 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report. The registrant expects to file its Definitive Proxy Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after December 31, 2014.

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ARMADA HOFFLER PROPERTIES, INC.

FORM 10-K

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2014

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this report. This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. We caution investors that any forward-looking statements presented in this report, or which management may make orally or in writing from time to time, are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management. When used, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “estimate,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “result” and similar expressions, which do not relate solely to historical matters, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are not guarantees of future performance, which may be affected by known and unknown risks, trends, uncertainties and factors that are beyond our control. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or projected. We caution you that while forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs when we make them, they are not guarantees of future performance and are impacted by actual events when they occur after we make such statements. We expressly disclaim any responsibility to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Accordingly, investors should use caution in relying on past forward-looking statements, which are based on results and trends at the time they are made, to anticipate future results or trends.

Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties and you should not rely on them as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements depend on assumptions, data or methods which may be incorrect or imprecise and we may not be able to realize them. We do not guarantee that the transactions and events described will happen as described (or that they will happen at all). The following factors, among others, could cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those set forth or contemplated in the forward-looking statements:

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While forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, they are not guarantees of future performance. We disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, except as required by applicable law. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements that are based on information currently available to us or the third parties making the forward-looking statements. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could impact our future results, performance or transactions, see the risk factors described in Item 1A herein and in other documents that we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

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PART I

Our Company

References to “we,” “our,” “us” and “our company” refer to Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc., a Maryland corporation, together with our consolidated subsidiaries, including Armada Hoffler, L.P., a Virginia limited partnership (the “Operating Partnership”), of which we are the sole general partner.

We are a full service real estate company with extensive experience developing, building, owning and managing high-quality, institutional-grade office, retail and multifamily properties in attractive markets throughout the Mid-Atlantic United States. In addition to the ownership of our operating property portfolio, we develop and build properties for our own account and through joint ventures between us and unaffiliated partners. We also provide general contracting services to third parties. Our construction and development experience includes mid- and high-rise office buildings, retail strip malls and retail power centers, multifamily apartment communities, hotels and conference centers, single- and multi-tenant industrial, distribution and manufacturing facilities, educational, medical and special purpose facilities, government projects, parking garages and mixed-use town centers. Our third-party construction contracts have included signature properties across the Mid-Atlantic region, such as the Inner Harbor East development in Baltimore, Maryland, including the Four Seasons Hotel and Legg Mason office tower, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C., and a $50 million proton therapy institute for Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia. Our construction company historically has been ranked among the “Top 400 General Contractors” nationwide by Engineering News Record and has been ranked among the “Top 50 Retail Contractors” by Shopping Center World.

We were formed on October 12, 2012 under the laws of the State of Maryland and are headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia. We elected to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing for the taxable year ended December 31, 2013. Substantially all of our assets are held by, and all of our operations are conducted through, our Operating Partnership. As of December 31, 2014, we owned, through a combination of direct and indirect interests, 62.9% of the units of limited partnership interest in our Operating Partnership (“OP Units”).

2014 Highlights

The following highlights our results of operations and significant transactions for the year ended December 31, 2014:

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For definitions and discussion of FFO, NOI and same store NOI, see the sections below entitled “Item 6. Selected Financial Data” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Our Competitive Strengths

We believe that we distinguish ourselves from other REITs through the following competitive strengths:

Our Business and Growth Strategies

Our primary business objectives are to: (i) continue to develop, build and own institutional-grade office, retail and multifamily properties in our target markets, (ii) finance and operate our portfolio in a manner that increases cash flow and property values, (iii) execute new third-party construction work with consistent operating margins and (iv) pursue selective acquisition opportunities, particularly when the acquisition involves a significant redevelopment aspect. We will seek to achieve our objectives through the following strategies:

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Our Properties

We generally consider a property to be stabilized when it reaches 80% occupancy or three years after acquisition or completion. As of December 31, 2014, our stabilized operating property portfolio comprised the following:

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The following tables summarize the scheduled expirations of leases in our stabilized office and retail operating property portfolios as of December 31, 2014. The information in the following tables does not assume the exercise of any renewal options.

Office Lease Expirations

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Tenant Diversification

The following tables list the 10 tenants in each of our stabilized office and retail operating property portfolios with the greatest annualized base rent as of December 31, 2014:

Clark Nexsen leases approximately 85,000 square feet of office space at 4525 Main Street. Because 4525 Main Street had not yet reached stabilization as of December 31, 2014, annualized base rent of $2.4 million from Clark Nexsen has been excluded from the preceding tables.

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Development Pipeline

In addition to the properties in our stabilized operating property portfolio as of December 31, 2014, we had the following properties in various stages of development and stabilization ($ in thousands):

Our execution on all of the projects identified in the preceding table are subject to, among other factors, regulatory approvals, financing availability and suitable market conditions.

The Oceaneering International facility is a 155,000 square foot office and manufacturing building that will serve as Oceaneering International’s operational base in Virginia. The building is 100% pre-leased to Oceaneering International, which has agreed to a 15-year lease with us. We facilitated this public/private transaction among the City of Chesapeake, the Commonwealth of Virginia and Oceaneering International. We delivered the completed project in February 2015.

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Sandbridge Commons continues our long-standing relationship with Harris Teeter, which has agreed to anchor this new shopping center pursuant to a 20-year ground lease. In addition to a 53,000 square foot Harris Teeter grocery store, Sandbridge Commons will include approximately 17,000 square feet of small shop retail space. The site includes two outparcels that we may either lease or sell.

Commonwealth of Virginia Projects: In January 2015, we delivered two new administrative buildings to the Commonwealth of Virginia—one in Chesapeake and one in Virginia Beach—totaling 47,000 square feet. The properties are 100% pre-leased to the Commonwealth of Virginia, which agreed to 15-year leases for both locations.

Lightfoot Marketplace will be a grocery-anchored shopping center in Williamsburg, Virginia. We expect to complete phase one of the project, consisting of approximately 88,000 square feet, in early 2016. Harris Teeter has signed a 20-year ground lease for a new 53,000 square foot store. Phase one of Lightfoot Marketplace will include an additional 35,000 square feet of shops and restaurants. Phase two represents an opportunity for us to develop another 42,000 square feet in the future.

Johns Hopkins Village will include student housing, retail space and parking located adjacent to Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus in Baltimore, Maryland. This mixed-use development is designed to complement both the Homewood campus and nearby Charles Village neighborhood and provide a catalyst for future development in the area. CVS has agreed to lease 10,500 square feet of retail space in the new development. We have agreed to a 65-year ground lease for the site and anticipate commencing construction during March 2015.

4525 Main Street is our most recent addition to the Town Center of Virginia Beach and is located at the intersection of Main Street and Town Center Drive across from The Cosmopolitan, One Columbus and Armada Hoffler Tower. This 15-story office tower is anchored by Clark Nexsen, an international architecture and engineering firm, to whom we delivered approximately 85,000 square feet of office space in July 2014. Additionally, we delivered to the City of Virginia Beach Development Authority approximately 23,000 square feet of office space in June 2014. 4525 Main Street also features approximately 26,000 square feet of ground floor retail space anchored by Anthropologie, which opened in October 2014. All of the remaining retail space is under lease by West Elm and Tupelo Honey Cafe.

Greentree Shopping Center features a Wawa convenience store and gas station adjacent to a new Walmart Neighborhood Market. We delivered to Walmart their pad-ready site on schedule in the first quarter of 2014. We have a long-term ground lease with Wawa and delivered their pad on schedule in May 2014. We delivered the remaining retail space during 2014.

Encore Apartments are also located in the Town Center of Virginia Beach adjacent to 4525 Main Street. Encore Apartments feature free covered parking, a private pool, a business center and meeting space. We delivered the first units at Encore Apartments in September 2014.

Whetstone Apartments is Durham, North Carolina’s newest urban community and is conveniently located near Duke University. We delivered the initial units at Whetstone Apartments in September 2014. On February 26, 2015, we entered into a definitive agreement to sell Whetstone Apartments for $35.6 million. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.

Dick’s at Town Center: During 2014, we renovated and expanded the vacant space adjacent to Dick’s Sporting Goods in the Town Center of Virginia Beach. We delivered the redeveloped 20,000 square feet of office space to USI Insurance Services in December 2014.

Acquisitions and Dispositions

On January 17, 2014, we completed our acquisition of Liberty Apartments for total consideration of $26.7 million, consisting of 695,652 OP Units, $3.0 million of cash and the assumption of $17.0 million of debt. Liberty Apartments are located in Newport News, Virginia, next to another one of our public/private partnership projects—the Newport News Apprentice School of Shipbuilding. In addition to 197 apartment units, Liberty Apartments also feature approximately 28,000 square feet of retail space.

On August 15, 2014, we completed our acquisition of Dimmock Square for total consideration of $19.7 million, consisting of 990,952 OP Units and $10.1 million of cash that we used to immediately defease the loan secured by the property. Dimmock Square is a 100% occupied 106,166 square foot retail center located in Colonial Heights, Virginia. The center is anchored by Old Navy, Best Buy and Pier 1 Imports.

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On November 20, 2014, we completed the sale of the Virginia Natural Gas office property for $8.9 million in cash. Net proceeds to us after transaction costs and tax protection payments were $7.4 million. The gain on the disposition of the Virginia Natural Gas office property was $2.2 million.

On January 5, 2015, we completed the sale of the Sentara Williamsburg office property for $15.4 million in cash. Net proceeds to us after transaction costs were $15.2 million. The gain on the disposition of the Sentara Williamsburg office property was $6.2 million. We plan to use the net proceeds from the Sentara Williamsburg sale in combination with the issuance of common stock to acquire two grocery store anchored retail centers in Maryland for a combined purchase price of approximately $39.1 million. These pending acquisitions will add over 185,000 square feet to our portfolio. Both transactions are subject to customary closing conditions and are expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2015.

On January 9, 2015, we entered into an agreement to purchase a 57,000 square foot grocery store anchored retail center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina for $8.7 million, including the assumption of approximately $5.1 million of debt. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015.

On February 13, 2015, we agreed to the future sale of the Oyster Point office property for $6.5 million in cash. We intend to complete the sale on January 15, 2017, subject to customary closing conditions.

Segments

As of December 31, 2014, we operated in four business segments: (i) office real estate, (ii) retail real estate, (iii) multifamily residential real estate and (iv) general contracting and real estate services. Additional information regarding our four operating segments is set forth in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and in Note 3 to our consolidated and combined financial statements in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Tax Status

We have elected and qualified to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our short taxable year ended December 31, 2013. Our continued qualification as a REIT will depend upon our ability to meet, on a continuing basis, through actual investment and operating results, various complex requirements under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) relating to, among other things, the sources of our gross income, the composition and values of our assets, our distribution levels and the diversity of ownership of our capital stock. We believe that we are organized in conformity with the requirements for qualification as a REIT under the Code and that our manner of operation will enable us to maintain the requirements for qualification and taxation as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In addition, we have elected to treat AHP Holding, Inc., which, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, operate our construction, development and third-party asset management businesses, as a taxable REIT subsidiary (“TRS”).

As a REIT, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our net taxable income that we distribute currently to our stockholders. Under the Code, REITs are subject to numerous organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement that they distribute each year at least 90% of their REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding any net capital gains. If we fail to qualify for taxation as a REIT in any taxable year and do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, our income for that year will be taxed at regular corporate rates, and we would be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which we ceased to qualify as a REIT. Even if we qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we may still be subject to state and local taxes on our income and assets and to federal income and excise taxes on our undistributed income. Additionally, any income earned by our services company, and any other TRS we form in the future, will be fully subject to federal, state and local corporate income tax.

Insurance

We carry comprehensive liability, fire, extended coverage, business interruption and rental loss insurance covering all of the properties in our portfolio under a blanket insurance policy, in addition to other coverage that may be appropriate for certain of our properties. We believe the policy specifications and insured limits are appropriate and adequate for our properties given the relative risk of loss, the cost of the coverage and industry practice; however, our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to fully cover our losses. We do not carry insurance for certain losses, including, but not limited to, losses caused by riots or war. Some of our policies, like those covering losses due to terrorism and earthquakes, are insured subject to limitations involving large deductibles or co-payments and policy limits that may not be sufficient to cover losses, for such events. In addition, all of the properties in our portfolio are located in Virginia and North Carolina, which are areas subject to an increased risk of hurricanes. While we will carry hurricane insurance on certain of our properties, the amount of our hurricane insurance coverage may not be sufficient to fully cover losses from hurricanes. We may reduce or discontinue hurricane, terrorism or other insurance on some or all of our properties in the future if the

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cost of premiums for any of these policies exceeds, in our judgment, the value of the coverage discounted for the risk of loss. Also, if destroyed, we may not be able to rebuild certain of our properties due to current zoning and land use regulations. As a result, we may be required to incur significant costs in the event of adverse weather conditions and natural disasters. In addition, our title insurance policies may not insure for the current aggregate market value of our portfolio, and we do not intend to increase our title insurance coverage as the market value of our portfolio increases. If we or one or more of our tenants experiences a loss that is uninsured or that exceeds policy limits, we could lose the capital invested in the damaged properties as well as the anticipated future cash flows from those properties. In addition, if the damaged properties are subject to recourse indebtedness, we would continue to be liable for the indebtedness, even if these properties were irreparably damaged. Furthermore, we may not be able to obtain adequate insurance coverage at reasonable costs in the future as the costs associated with property and casualty renewals may be higher than anticipated.

Regulation

General

Our properties are subject to various covenants, laws, ordinances and regulations, including regulations relating to common areas and fire and safety requirements. We believe that each of the properties in our portfolio has the necessary permits and approvals to operate its business.

Americans With Disabilities Act

Our properties must comply with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “ADA”), to the extent that such properties are “public accommodations” as defined by the ADA. Under the ADA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. The ADA may require removal of structural barriers to access by persons with disabilities in certain public areas of our properties where such removal is readily achievable. Although we believe that the properties in our portfolio in the aggregate substantially comply with present requirements of the ADA, we have not conducted a comprehensive audit or investigation of all of our properties to determine our compliance, and we are aware that some particular properties may currently be in non-compliance with the ADA. Noncompliance with the ADA could result in the incurrence of additional costs to attain compliance, the imposition of fines, an award of damages to private litigants and a limitation on our ability to refinance outstanding indebtedness. The obligation to make readily achievable accommodations is an ongoing one, and we will continue to assess our properties and to make alterations as appropriate in this respect.

Environmental Matters

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

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, propane 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. As a result, some of our properties have been or may be impacted by contamination arising from the releases of such hazardous substances or petroleum products. Where we have deemed appropriate, we have taken steps to address identified contamination or mitigate risks associated with such contamination; however, we are unable to ensure that further actions will not be necessary. As a result of the foregoing, we could potentially incur material liability.

Environmental laws also govern the presence, maintenance and removal of asbestos-containing building materials, or ACBM, and may impose fines and penalties for failure to comply with these requirements or expose us to third-party liability. Such laws require that owners or operators of buildings containing ACBM (and employers in such buildings) properly manage and maintain the asbestos, adequately notify or train those who may come into contact with asbestos, and undertake special precautions, including removal or other abatement, if asbestos would be disturbed during renovation or demolition of a building. In addition, the presence of ACBM in our properties may expose us to third-party liability (e.g. liability for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos). We are not presently aware of any material adverse issues at our properties including ACBM.

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Similarly, environmental laws govern the presence, maintenance and removal of lead-based paint in residential buildings, and may impose fines and penalties for failure to comply with these requirements. Such laws require, among other things, that owners or operators of residential facilities that contain or potentially contain lead-based paint notify residents of the presence or potential presence of lead-based paint prior to occupancy and prior to renovations and manage lead-based paint waste appropriately. In addition, the presence of lead-based paint in our buildings may expose us to third-party liability (e.g., liability for personal injury associated with exposure to lead-based paint). We are not presently aware of any material adverse issues at our properties involving lead-based paint.

In addition, the properties in our portfolio also are subject to various federal, state, and local environmental and health and safety requirements, such as state and local fire requirements. Moreover, some of our tenants may handle and use hazardous or regulated substances and wastes as part of their operations at our properties, which are subject to regulation. Such environmental and health and safety laws and regulations could subject us or our tenants to liability resulting from these activities. Environmental liabilities could affect a tenant’s ability to make rental payments to us. In addition, changes in laws could increase the potential liability for noncompliance. Our leases sometimes require our tenants to comply with environmental and health and safety laws and regulations and to indemnify us for any related liabilities. But in the event of the bankruptcy or inability of any of our tenants to satisfy such obligations, we may be required to satisfy such obligations. In addition, we may be held directly liable for any such damages or claims regardless of whether we knew of, or were responsible for, the presence or disposal of hazardous or toxic substances or waste and irrespective of tenant lease provisions. The costs associated with such liability could be substantial and could have a material adverse effect on us.

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 are not presently aware of any material adverse indoor air quality issues at our properties.

Competition

We compete with a number of developers, owners and operators of office, retail and multifamily real estate, many of which own properties similar to ours in the same markets in which our properties are located and some of which have greater financial resources than we do. In operating and managing our portfolio, we compete for tenants based on a number of factors, including location, rental rates, security, flexibility and expertise to design space to meet prospective tenants’ needs and the manner in which the property is operated, maintained and marketed. As leases at our properties expire, we may encounter significant competition to renew or re-lease space in light of the large number of competing properties within the markets in which we operate. As a result, we may be required to provide rent concessions or abatements, incur charges for tenant improvements and other inducements, including early termination rights or below-market renewal options, or we may not be able to timely lease vacant space.

We also face competition when pursuing development and acquisition opportunities. Our competitors may be able to pay higher property acquisition prices, may have private access to opportunities not available to us and otherwise be in a better position to acquire or develop a property. Competition may also have the effect of reducing the number of suitable development and acquisition opportunities available to us or increasing the price required to consummate a development or acquisition opportunity.

In addition, we face competition in our construction business from other construction companies in the markets in which we operate, including small local companies and large regional and national companies. In our construction business, we compete for construction projects based on several factors, including cost, reputation for quality and timeliness, access to machinery and equipment, access to and relationships with high-quality subcontractors, financial strength, knowledge of local markets and project management abilities. We believe that we compete favorably on the basis of the foregoing factors, and that our construction business is well-positioned to compete effectively in the markets in which we operate. However, some of the construction companies with which we compete have different cost structures and greater financial and other resources than we do, which may put them at an advantage when competing with us for construction projects. Competition from other construction companies may reduce the number of construction projects that we are hired to complete and increase pricing pressure, either of which could reduce the profitability of our construction business.

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Employees

At December 31, 2014, we had 137 employees. None of our employees are represented by a collective bargaining unit. We believe that our relationship with our employees is good.

Corporate Information

Our principal executive office is located at 222 Central Park Avenue, Suite 2100, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462 in the Armada Hoffler Tower at the Town Center of Virginia Beach. In addition, we have construction offices located at 249 Central Park Avenue, Suite 300, Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462 and 1300 Thames Street, Suite 30, Baltimore, Maryland 21231. The telephone number for our principal executive office is (757) 366-4000. We maintain a website located at www.armadahoffler.com. The information on, or accessible through, our website is not incorporated into and does not constitute a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K or any other report or document we file with or furnish to the SEC.

Available Information

We file our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports with the SEC. You may obtain copies of these documents by visiting the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549, by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 or by accessing the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. In addition, as soon as reasonably practicable after such materials are furnished to the SEC, we make copies of these documents available to the public free of charge through our website or by contacting our Corporate Secretary at the address set forth above under “—Corporate Information.”

Our Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, and the charters of our audit committee, compensation committee and nominating and corporate governance committee are all available in the Corporate Governance section of the Investor Relations section of our website.

Financial Information

For required financial information related to our operations, please refer to our consolidated and combined financial statements, including the notes thereto, included with this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Set forth below are the risks that we believe are material to our stockholders. You should carefully consider the following risks in evaluating our Company and our business. The occurrence of any of the following risks could materially adversely impact our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, the market price of shares of our common stock and our ability to, among other things, satisfy our debt service obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders, which in turn could cause our stockholders to lose all or a part of their investment. Some statements in this report including statements in the following risk factors constitute forward-looking statements. Please refer to the section entitled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” at the beginning of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Risks Related to Our Real Estate Ownership, Acquisition and Development Business

The geographic concentration of our portfolio could cause us to be more susceptible to adverse economic or regulatory developments in the markets in which our properties are located than if we owned a more geographically diverse portfolio.

The properties in our stabilized portfolio are located in Virginia and North Carolina, which expose us to greater economic risks than if we owned a more geographically diverse portfolio. As of December 31, 2014, our properties in the Virginia and North Carolina markets represented approximately 94% and 6%, respectively, of the total annualized base rent of the properties in our stabilized portfolio. As a result, we are particularly susceptible to adverse economic, regulatory or other conditions in these markets (such as periods of economic slowdown or recession, business layoffs or downsizing, industry slowdowns, relocations of businesses, increases in real estate and other taxes and the cost of complying with governmental regulations or increased regulation), as well as to natural disasters that occur in these markets (such as hurricanes and other events). For example, the markets in Virginia in which the properties in our portfolio are located contain high concentrations of military personnel and operations. A reduction of the military presence or cuts in defense spending in these markets could have a material adverse effect on us. If there is a further downturn in the

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economy in the Virginia or North Carolina markets, our operations and our revenue and cash available for distribution, including cash available to pay distributions to our stockholders, could be materially adversely affected. We cannot assure you that these markets will grow or that underlying real estate fundamentals will be favorable to owners and operators of office, retail or multifamily properties. Our operations may also be affected if competing properties are built in these markets. Moreover, submarkets within any of our target markets may be dependent upon a limited number of industries. Any adverse economic or real estate developments in our markets, or any decrease in demand for office, retail or multifamily space resulting from the regulatory environment, business climate or energy or fiscal problems, could materially adversely affect us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations.

We have a substantial amount of indebtedness outstanding, which may expose us to the risk of default under our debt obligations and may include covenants that restrict our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

At December 31, 2014, we had total debt outstanding of approximately $359.2 million, including amounts drawn under our credit facility, a substantial portion of which is guaranteed by our Operating Partnership, and we may incur significant additional debt to finance future acquisition and development activities. Payments of principal and interest on borrowings may leave us with insufficient cash resources to operate our properties or to pay the dividends currently contemplated or necessary to maintain our REIT qualification. Our level of debt and the limitations imposed on us by our debt agreements could have significant adverse consequences, including the following:

If any one of these events were to occur, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow could be materially adversely affected. Furthermore, foreclosures could create taxable income without accompanying cash proceeds, which could hinder our ability to meet the REIT distribution requirements imposed by the Code. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

We depend on significant tenants in certain of our office properties, and a bankruptcy, insolvency or inability to pay rent by any of these tenants could result in a material decrease in our rental income, which would have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

As of December 31, 2014, the largest tenant in our stabilized office portfolio—Williams Mullen—represented approximately 33% of the total annualized base rent in our stabilized office portfolio. The inability of this or other significant tenants to pay rent or the bankruptcy or insolvency of a significant tenant may adversely affect the income produced by our office properties. For example, Williams Mullen, the largest tenant at properties in our stabilized portfolio by annualized base rent, represented annualized base rent of approximately $8.0 million as of December 31, 2014 or 14% of the total annualized base rent of our stabilized portfolio as of December 31, 2014. As a result, Williams Mullen’s inability to pay rent could materially adversely affect the income produced by our portfolio.

If a tenant becomes bankrupt or 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 with us. Any claim against such tenant for unpaid, future rent would be subject to a statutory cap that might be substantially less than the remaining rent owed under the lease. If any of these tenants were to experience a downturn in its business or a weakening of its financial condition resulting in its failure to make timely rental payments or causing it to default under its lease, we may experience delays in enforcing our rights as landlord and may incur substantial costs in protecting our investment. In many cases, we may have made

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substantial initial investments in the applicable leases through tenant improvement allowances and other concessions that we may not be able to recover. Any such event could have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

The loss of, or a store closure by, one of the anchor stores or major tenants in our retail shopping center properties could result in a material decrease in our rental income, which would have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

Our retail shopping center properties typically are anchored by large, nationally recognized tenants. As of December 31, 2014, Home Depot, Harris Teeter and Food Lion collectively represented approximately 21%, and individually represented 9%, 6% and 6%, respectively, of the total annualized base rent in our stabilized retail portfolio. In addition, several of our retail properties are single-tenant properties or are occupied primarily by a single tenant. As of December 31, 2014, the Courthouse 7-Eleven, Tyre Neck Harris Teeter and Harrisonburg Regal retail properties in our portfolio were 100% occupied by 7-Eleven, Harris Teeter and Regal Cinemas, respectively, and the Dick’s at Town Center and Studio 56 retail properties were approximately 81% and 69% occupied by Dick’s Sporting Goods and McCormick & Schmick’s, respectively. At any time, our tenants may experience a downturn in their business that may weaken significantly their financial condition. As a result, our tenants, including our anchor and other major tenants, may fail to comply with their contractual obligations to us, seek concessions in order to continue operations or declare bankruptcy, any of which could result in the termination of such tenants’ leases and the loss of rental income attributable to the terminated leases. In addition, certain of our tenants may cease operations while continuing to pay rent, which could decrease customer traffic, thereby decreasing sales for our other tenants at the applicable retail property. In addition to these potential effects of a business downturn, mergers or consolidations among retail establishments could result in the closure of existing stores or duplicate or geographically overlapping store locations, which could include stores at our retail properties.

Loss of, or a store closure by, an anchor or major tenant could significantly reduce our occupancy level or the rent we receive from our retail properties, and we may not have the right to re-lease vacated space or we may be unable to re-lease vacated space at attractive rents or at all. Moreover, in the event of default by a major tenant or anchor store, we may experience delays and costs in enforcing our rights as landlord to recover amounts due to us under the terms of our agreements with those parties. The occurrence of any of the situations described above, particularly if it involves an anchor tenant with leases in multiple locations, could seriously harm our performance and could adversely affect the value of the affected retail property.

In the event that any of the anchor stores, major tenants or single-tenant property tenants in our retail properties do not renew their leases with us when they expire, we may be unable to re-lease such premises at market rents, or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and cash available for distribution and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations.

We may be unable to renew leases, lease vacant space or re-lease space on favorable terms or at all as leases expire, which could materially adversely affect us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

As of December 31, 2014, 4% of the square footage of the properties in our stabilized office and retail portfolios was available. We cannot assure you that leases will be renewed or that our properties will be re-leased at net effective rental rates equal to or above the current average net effective rental rates or that substantial rent abatements, tenant improvements, early termination rights or below-market renewal options will not be offered to attract new tenants or retain existing tenants. In addition, our ability to lease our multifamily properties at favorable rates, or at all, may be adversely affected by the increase in supply of multifamily properties in our target markets. Our ability to lease our properties depends upon the overall level of spending in the economy, which is adversely affected by, among other things, job losses and unemployment levels, recession, personal debt levels, the housing market, stock market volatility and uncertainty about the future. If rental rates for our properties decrease, our existing tenants do not renew their leases or we do not re-lease a significant portion of our available space and space for which leases expire, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distributions and our ability to service our debt obligations could be materially adversely affected.

Competition for property acquisitions and development opportunities may reduce the number of opportunities available to us and increase our costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our growth prospects.

The current market for property acquisitions and development opportunities continues to be extremely competitive. 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 purchase prices for such properties, in the event we are able to acquire or develop such properties. We face significant competition for attractive investment opportunities from an indeterminate number of investors, including publicly traded and privately held REITs, private equity investors and institutional investment funds,

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some of which have greater financial resources than we do, a greater ability to borrow funds to make investments in properties and the ability to accept more risk than we can prudently manage, including risks with respect to the geographic proximity of investments and the payment of higher acquisition prices. This competition will increase if investments in real estate become more attractive relative to other forms of investment. If the level of competition for investment opportunities is significant in our target markets, it could have a material adverse effect on our growth prospects.

The failure of properties that we develop or acquire in the future to meet our financial expectations could have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, the per share trading price of our common stock and our growth prospects.

Our future acquisitions and development projects and our ability to successfully operate these properties may be exposed to the following significant risks, among others:

If we cannot operate acquired or developed properties to meet our financial expectations, our growth prospects could be materially adversely affected.

Certain of the leases at our retail properties contain “co-tenancy” or “go-dark” provisions, which, if triggered, may allow tenants to pay reduced rent, cease operations or terminate their leases, any of which could materially adversely affect our performance or the value of the affected retail property.

Certain of the leases at our retail properties contain “co-tenancy” provisions that condition a tenant’s obligation to remain open, the amount of rent payable by the tenant or the tenant’s obligation to continue occupancy on certain conditions, including: (i) the presence of a certain anchor tenant or tenants, (ii) the continued operation of an anchor tenant’s store and (iii) minimum occupancy levels at the retail property. If a co-tenancy provision is triggered by a failure of any of these or other applicable conditions, a tenant could have the right to cease operations, to terminate its lease early or to reduce its rent. In periods of prolonged economic decline, there is a higher than normal risk that co-tenancy provisions will be triggered as there is a higher risk of tenants closing stores or terminating leases during these periods. In addition to these co-tenancy provisions, certain of the leases at our retail properties contain “go-dark” provisions that allow the tenant to cease operations while continuing to pay rent. This could result in decreased customer traffic at the affected retail property, thereby decreasing sales for our other tenants at that property, which may result in our other tenants being unable to pay their minimum rents or expense recovery charges. These provisions also may result in lower rental revenue generated under the applicable leases. To the extent co-tenancy or go-dark provisions in our retail leases result in lower revenue or tenant sales or tenants’ rights to terminate their leases early or to a reduction of their rent, revenues and the value of the affected retail property could be materially adversely affected.

Our dependence on smaller businesses, particularly in our retail portfolio, to rent our space could have a material adverse effect on our cash flow and results of operations.

Many of our tenants, particularly those that lease space in our retail properties are smaller businesses that generally do not have the financial strength or resources of larger corporate tenants. In particular, 70 of our retail leases (representing approximately 10% of our annualized base rent from stabilized retail properties as of December 31, 2014) lease 2,500 or less square feet from us, and many of those tenants are smaller independent businesses, which generally experience a higher rate of failure than larger businesses. As a result of our dependence on these smaller businesses, we could experience a higher rate of tenant defaults, turnover and bankruptcies, which could have a material adverse effect on our cash flow and results of operations.

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Many of our operating costs and expenses are fixed and will not decline if our revenues decline.

Our results of operations depend, in large part, on our level of revenues, operating costs and expenses. The expense of owning and operating a property is not necessarily reduced when circumstances such as market factors and competition cause a reduction in revenue from the property. As a result, if revenues decline, we may not be able to reduce our expenses to keep pace with the corresponding reductions in revenues. Many of the costs associated with real estate investments, such as real estate taxes, insurance, loan payments and maintenance, generally will not be reduced if a property is not fully occupied or other circumstances cause our revenues to decrease, which could have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

Increases in mortgage rates or unavailability of mortgage debt may make it difficult for us to finance or refinance our debt, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, growth prospects and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

If mortgage debt is unavailable to us at reasonable rates or at all, we may not be able to finance the purchase or development of additional properties or refinance existing debt when it becomes due. If interest rates are higher when we refinance our properties, our income and cash flow could be reduced, which would reduce cash available for distribution to our stockholders and may hinder our ability to raise more capital by issuing more stock or by borrowing more money. In addition, to the extent we are unable to refinance our debt when it becomes due, we will have fewer debt guarantee opportunities available to offer under our tax protection agreements, which could trigger an obligation to indemnify certain parties under the applicable tax protection agreements.

Mortgage debt obligations expose us to the possibility of foreclosure, which could result in the loss of our investment in a property or group of properties subject to mortgage debt.

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

Most of our debt arrangements involve balloon payment obligations, which may materially adversely affect us, including our cash flows, financial condition and ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Most of our debt arrangements require us to make a lump-sum or “balloon” payment at maturity. Our ability to make a balloon payment at maturity is uncertain and may depend upon our ability to obtain additional financing or our ability to sell the property. At the time the balloon payment is due, we may or may not be able to refinance the existing financing on terms as favorable as the original loan or sell the property at a price sufficient to make the balloon payment. In addition, balloon payments and payments of principal and interest on our indebtedness may leave us with insufficient cash to pay the distributions that we are required to pay to maintain our qualification as a REIT.

Our credit facility restricts our ability to engage in certain business activities, including our ability to incur additional indebtedness, make capital expenditures and make certain investments.

Our credit facility contains customary negative covenants and other financial and operating covenants that, among other things:

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These limitations restrict our ability to engage in certain business activities, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations. In addition, our credit facility may contain specific cross-default provisions with respect to specified other indebtedness, giving the lenders the right, in certain circumstances, to declare a default if we are in default under other loans.

Adverse economic and geopolitical conditions and dislocations in the credit markets could have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

Our business may be affected by market and economic challenges experienced by the U.S. economy or real estate industry as a whole, such as the dislocations in the credit markets and general global economic downturn during the recent recessionary period. These conditions, or similar conditions in the future, may materially adversely affect us as a result of the following potential consequences, among others:

If the U.S. economy experiences another economic downturn, we may see increases in bankruptcies of our tenants and increased defaults by tenants, and we may experience higher vacancy rates and delays in re-leasing vacant space, which could negatively impact our business and results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

Failure to hedge effectively against interest rate changes may adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

Subject to maintaining our qualification as a REIT, we expect to continue to enter into hedging transactions to protect us from the effects of interest rate fluctuations on floating rate debt. Our existing hedging transactions have, and future hedging transactions may, include entering into interest rate cap agreements or interest rate swap agreements. These agreements involve risks, such as the risk that such arrangements would not be effective in reducing our exposure to interest rate changes or that a court could rule that such an agreement is not legally enforceable. In addition, interest rate hedging can be expensive, particularly during periods of rising and volatile interest rates. Hedging could increase our costs and reduce the overall returns on our investments. In addition, while hedging agreements would be intended to lessen the impact of rising interest rates on us, they could also expose us to the risk that the other parties to the agreements would not perform, that we could incur significant costs associated with the settlement of the agreements or that the underlying transactions could fail to qualify as highly-effective cash flow hedges under Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging.

Adverse conditions in the general retail environment could have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to satisfy our debt service obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders.

Approximately 40% of our total stabilized annualized base rent as of December 31, 2014, are from retail properties. As a result, we are subject to factors that affect the retail sector generally, as well as the market for retail space. The retail environment and the market for retail space have been, and could continue to be, adversely affected by weakness in the national, regional and local economies, the level of consumer spending and consumer confidence, the adverse financial condition of some large retailing companies, the ongoing consolidation in the retail sector, the excess amount of retail space in a number of markets and increasing competition from discount retailers, outlet malls, internet retailers and other online businesses. Increases in consumer spending via the internet may significantly affect our retail tenants’ ability to generate sales in their stores. New and enhanced technologies, including new digital technologies and new web services technologies, may increase competition for certain of our retail tenants.

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Any of the foregoing factors could adversely affect the financial condition of our retail tenants and the willingness of retailers to lease space in our retail properties. In turn, these conditions could negatively affect market rents for retail space and could materially and adversely affect us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distributions and our ability to service our debt obligations.

We have limited operating history as a REIT or a publicly traded company.

We have limited operating history as a REIT or a publicly traded company. We cannot assure you that the past experience of our senior management team will be sufficient to successfully operate our company as a REIT or a publicly traded company, including the requirements to timely meet disclosure requirements of the SEC. We will be required to develop and implement control systems and procedures in order to qualify and maintain our qualification as a REIT and satisfy our periodic and current reporting requirements under applicable SEC regulations and comply with New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) listing standards, and this transition could place a significant strain on our management systems, infrastructure and other resources. Failure to operate successfully as a public company or maintain our qualification as a REIT could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and per share trading price of our common stock. See “—Risks Related to Our Status as a REIT.”

We are an “emerging growth company,” and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make shares of our common stock less attractive to investors.

In April 2012, President Obama signed into law the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”). The JOBS Act contains provisions that, among other things, relax certain reporting requirements for “emerging growth companies,” including certain requirements relating to accounting standards and compensation disclosure. We are classified as an emerging growth company. For as long as we are an emerging growth company, which may be up to five full fiscal years, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting and other requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including the requirements to:

We cannot predict if investors will find shares of our common stock less attractive because we will not be subject to the same reporting and other requirements as other public companies. If some investors find shares of our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, the per share trading price of our common stock could decline and may be more volatile.

We will continue to incur costs as a result of becoming a public company, and such costs may increase if and when we cease to be an “emerging growth company.”

As a public company, we expect to continue to incur significant legal, accounting, insurance and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, including costs associated with public company reporting requirements. The expenses incurred by public companies generally for reporting and corporate governance purposes have been increasing. We expect compliance with these public reporting requirements and associated rules and regulations to increase expenses, particularly after we are no longer an emerging growth company, although we are currently unable to estimate these costs with any degree of certainty. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, which could result in our incurring additional costs applicable to public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

We will be subject to the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

As long as we remain an emerging growth company, as that term is defined in the JOBS Act, we will be permitted to gradually comply with certain of the on-going reporting and disclosure obligations of public companies pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

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However, after we are no longer an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act, management will be required to have an independent auditor assess the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Substantial work on our part is required to implement appropriate processes, document the system of internal control over key processes, assess their design, remediate any deficiencies identified and test their operation. This process is expected to be both costly and challenging. We cannot give any assurances that material weaknesses will not be identified in the future in connection with our compliance with the provisions of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The existence of any material weakness described above would preclude a conclusion by management and our independent auditors that we maintained effective internal control over financial reporting. Our management may be required to devote significant time and expense to remediate any material weaknesses that may be discovered and may not be able to remediate any material weakness in a timely manner. The existence of any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting could also result in errors in our financial statements that could require us to restate our financial statements, cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, all of which could lead to a decline in the per share trading price of our common stock.

We may be required to make rent or other concessions or significant capital expenditures to improve our properties in order to retain and attract tenants, which may materially adversely affect us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distributions and our ability to service our debt obligations.

Upon expiration of our leases to our tenants, to the extent that adverse economic conditions in the real estate market reduce the demand for office, retail and multifamily space, we may be required to make rent or other concessions, accommodate requests for renovations, build-to-suit remodeling and other improvements or provide additional services to our tenants, any of which would increase our costs. As a result, we may have to make significant capital or other expenditures in order to retain tenants whose leases expire and to attract new tenants in sufficient numbers. Additionally, we may need to raise capital to make such expenditures. If we are unable to do so or capital is otherwise unavailable, we may be unable to make the required expenditures. This could result in non-renewals by tenants upon expiration of their leases. If any of the foregoing were to occur, it could have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

Our use of units in our Operating Partnership as currency to acquire properties could result in stockholder dilution or limit our ability to sell such properties, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

We have, and in the future we may, acquire properties or portfolios of properties through tax deferred contribution transactions in exchange for OP Units. In particular, we issued OP Units in connection with our acquisition of certain properties during 2014 and intend to issue additional OP Units in connection with certain property acquisitions during 2015, as discussed in “Item 1 – Business – Acquisitions and Dispositions.” 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 or the allocation of partnership debt to the contributors to maintain their tax bases. These restrictions also could limit our ability to sell properties at a time, or on terms, that would be favorable absent such restrictions. In addition, future issuances of OP Units would reduce our ownership percentage in our Operating Partnership and affect the amount of distributions made to us by our Operating Partnership and, therefore, the amount of distributions we can make to our stockholders. To the extent that our stockholders do not directly own OP Units, our stockholders will not have any voting rights with respect to any such issuances or other partnership level activities of our Operating Partnership.

Significant competition in the leasing market could have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

We compete with numerous developers, owners and operators of real estate, many of which own properties similar to ours in the same submarkets in which our properties are located. If our competitors offer space at rental rates below current market rates, or below the rental rates we currently charge our tenants, we may lose existing or potential tenants and we may be pressured to reduce our rental rates below those we currently charge or to offer more substantial rent abatements, tenant improvements, early termination rights or below-market renewal options in order to retain tenants when our tenants’ leases expire. As a result, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distributions and our ability to service our debt obligations could be materially and adversely affected.

Our success depends on key personnel whose continued service is not guaranteed, and the loss of one or more of our key personnel could adversely affect our ability to manage our business and to implement our growth strategies, or could create a negative perception of our company in the capital markets.

Our continued success and our ability to manage anticipated future growth depend, in large part, upon the efforts of key personnel, particularly Messrs. Hoffler (our Executive Chairman), Kirk (our Vice Chairman), Haddad (our President and Chief Executive Officer), Nero (our President of Development), Apperson (our President of Construction), O’Hara (our Chief Financial

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Officer and Treasurer), and Smith (our Vice President of Operations and Corporate Secretary) and Ms. Hampton (our President of Asset Management), who have extensive market knowledge and relationships and exercise substantial influence over our operational, financing, development and construction activity. Among the reasons that these individuals are important to our success is that each has a national or regional industry reputation that attracts business and investment opportunities and assists us in negotiations with lenders, existing and potential tenants and industry personnel. If we lose their services, our relationships with such personnel could diminish.

Many of our other senior executives also have extensive experience and strong reputations in the real estate industry, which aid us in identifying opportunities, having opportunities brought to us and negotiating with tenants and build-to-suit prospects. The loss of services of one or more members of our senior management team, or our inability to attract and retain highly qualified personnel, could adversely affect our business, diminish our investment opportunities and weaken our relationships with lenders, business partners, existing and prospective tenants and industry participants, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and the per share trading price of our common stock.

We may be subject to on-going or future litigation, including existing claims relating to the entities that owned the properties prior to our initial public offering and otherwise in the ordinary course of business, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and the per share trading price of our common stock.

We may be subject to on-going litigation, including existing claims relating to the entities that owned the properties and operated the businesses prior to our initial public offering and otherwise in the ordinary course of business. Some of these claims may result in significant defense costs and potentially significant judgments against us, some of which are not, or cannot be, insured against. We generally intend to vigorously defend ourselves. However, we cannot be certain of the ultimate outcomes of currently asserted claims or of those that may arise in the future. In addition, we may become subject to litigation in connection with the formation transactions related to our initial public offering in the event that prior investors dispute the valuation of their respective interests, the adequacy of the consideration received by them in the formation transactions or the interpretation of the agreements implementing the formation transactions. Resolution of these types of matters against us may result in our having to pay significant fines, judgments, or settlements, which, if uninsured, or if the fines, judgments, and settlements exceed insured levels, could adversely impact our earnings and cash flows, thereby having an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations. Certain litigation or the resolution of certain litigation may affect the availability or cost of some of our insurance coverage, which could materially adversely affect our results of operations and cash flows, expose us to increased risks that would be uninsured and adversely impact our ability to attract officers and directors.

Potential losses from hurricanes in Virginia and North Carolina may not be covered by insurance.

All of the properties in our portfolio are located in Virginia and North Carolina, which are areas particularly susceptible to hurricanes. While we carry insurance on certain of our properties in Virginia, the amount of our insurance coverage may not be sufficient to fully cover losses from hurricanes and will be subject to limitations involving large deductibles or co-payments. In addition, we may reduce or discontinue insurance on some or all of our properties in the future if the cost of premiums for any such policies exceeds, in our judgment, the value of the coverage discounted for the risk of loss. As a result, in the event of a hurricane, we may be required to incur significant costs, and, to the extent that a loss exceeds policy limits, we could lose the capital invested in the damaged properties as well as the anticipated future cash flows from those properties. In addition, if the damaged properties are subject to recourse indebtedness, we would continue to be liable for the indebtedness, even if these properties were irreparably damaged.

We may not be able to rebuild our existing properties to their existing specifications if we experience a substantial or comprehensive loss of such properties.

In the event that 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. Further, reconstruction or improvement of such a property would likely require significant upgrades to meet zoning and building code requirements. Environmental and legal restrictions could also restrict the rebuilding of our properties.

Joint venture investments could be adversely affected by our lack of sole decision-making authority, our reliance on co-venturers’ financial condition and disputes between us and our co-venturers.

In the past, we have, and in the future, we expect to, co-invest with third parties through partnerships, joint ventures or other entities, acquiring noncontrolling interests in or sharing responsibility for developing properties and managing the affairs of a property, partnership, joint venture or other entity. In particular, in connection with the formation transactions related to our initial public offering, we provided certain of the prior investors with the right to co-develop certain projects with us in the future and the right to acquire a minority equity interest in certain properties that we may develop in the future, in each case under certain

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circumstances and subject to certain conditions set forth in the applicable agreement. Furthermore, we are 60% and 80% joint venture partners in our Lightfoot Marketplace and Johns Hopkins Village development projects, respectively. In the event that we co-develop a property together with a third party, we would be required to share a portion of the development fee. With respect to any such arrangement or any similar arrangement that we may enter into in the future, we may not be in a position to exercise sole decision-making authority regarding the development, property, partnership, joint venture or other entity. Investments in partnerships, joint ventures or other entities may, under certain circumstances, involve risks not present where a third party is not involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or fail to fund their share of required capital contributions. Partners or co-venturers may have economic or other business interests or goals which are inconsistent with our business interests or goals and may be in a position to take actions contrary to our policies or objectives, and they may have competing interests in our markets that could create conflicts of interest. Such investments may also have the potential risk of impasses on decisions, such as a sale or financing, because neither we nor the partner(s) or co-venturer(s) would have full control over the partnership or joint venture. In addition, a sale or transfer by us to a third party of our interests in the joint venture may be subject to consent rights or rights of first refusal, in favor of our joint venture partners, which would in each case restrict our ability to dispose of our interest in the joint venture. Where we are a limited partner or non-managing member in any partnership or limited liability company, if such entity takes or expects to take actions that could jeopardize our status as a REIT or require us to pay tax, we may be forced to dispose of our interest in such entity. Disputes between us and partners or co-venturers may result in litigation or arbitration that would increase our expenses and prevent our officers and directors from focusing their time and effort on our business. Consequently, actions by or disputes with partners or co-venturers might result in subjecting properties owned by the partnership or joint venture to additional risk. In addition, we may in certain circumstances be liable for the actions of our third-party partners or co-venturers. Our joint ventures may be subject to debt and, during periods of volatile credit markets, the refinancing of such debt may require equity capital calls.

Increased competition and increased affordability of residential homes could limit our ability to retain our residents, lease apartment units or increase or maintain rents at our multifamily apartment communities.

Our multifamily apartment communities compete with numerous housing alternatives in attracting residents, including other multifamily apartment communities and single-family rental units, as well as owner-occupied single- and multifamily units. Competitive housing in a particular area and an increase in the affordability of owner-occupied single- and multifamily units due to, among other things, declining housing prices, oversupply, mortgage interest rates and tax incentives and government programs to promote home ownership, could adversely affect our ability to retain residents, lease apartment units and increase or maintain rents at our multifamily properties.

Our growth depends on external sources of capital that are outside of our control and may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all, which could limit our ability to, among other things, meet our capital and operating needs or make the cash distributions to our stockholders necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT.

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

Recently, the capital markets have been subject to significant disruptions. If we cannot obtain capital from third-party sources, we may not be able to acquire or develop properties when strategic opportunities exist, meet the capital and operating needs of our existing properties, satisfy our debt service obligations or make the cash distributions to our stockholders necessary to maintain our qualification as a REIT.

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Risks Related to Our Third-Party Construction Business

Adverse economic and regulatory conditions, particularly in the Mid-Atlantic region, could adversely affect our construction and development business, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

Our third-party construction activities have been, and are expected to continue to be, primarily focused in the Mid-Atlantic region, although we have also undertaken construction projects in various states in the Southeast, Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States. As a result of our concentration of construction projects in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, we are particularly susceptible to adverse economic or other conditions in this market (such as periods of economic slowdown or recession, business layoffs or downsizing, industry slowdowns, relocations of businesses, labor disruptions and the costs of complying with governmental regulations or increased regulation), as well as to natural disasters that occur in this region. We cannot assure you that our target markets will support construction and development projects of the type in which we typically engage. While we have the ability to provide a wide range of development and construction services, any adverse economic or real estate developments in the Mid-Atlantic region could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

There can be no assurance that all of the projects for which our construction business is engaged as general contractor will be commenced or completed in their entirety in accordance with the anticipated cost, or that we will achieve the financial results we expect from the construction of such properties, which could materially adversely affect our cash flows, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our construction business earns profit for serving as general contractor equal to the difference between the total construction fees that we charge and the costs that we incur to build a property. If the decision is made by a third-party client to abandon a construction project for any reason, our anticipated fee revenue from such project could be significantly lower than we expect. In addition, we defer pre-contract costs when such costs are directly associated with specific anticipated construction contracts and their recovery is deemed probable. In the event that we determine that the execution of a construction contract is no longer probable, we would be required to expense those pre-contract costs in the period in which such determination is made, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations in such period. Our ability to complete the projects in our construction pipeline on time and on budget could be materially adversely affected as a result of the following factors, among others:

If we do not complete construction projects on time and on budget, it could have a material adverse effect on us, including our cash flows, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our dependence on third-party subcontractors and equipment and material providers could result in material shortages and project delays and could reduce our profits or result in project losses, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

Because our construction business provides general contracting services, we rely on third-party subcontractors and equipment and material providers. For example, we procure equipment and construction materials as needed when engaged in large construction projects. To the extent that we cannot engage subcontractors or acquire equipment and materials at reasonable costs or if the amount we are required to pay for subcontractors or equipment exceeds our estimates, our ability to complete a construction project in a timely fashion or at a profit may be impaired. In addition, if a subcontractor or a manufacturer is unable to deliver its services, equipment or materials according to the negotiated terms for any reason, including the deterioration of its financial condition, we may be required to purchase the services, equipment or materials from another source at a higher price. Additionally, while our construction contracts generally provide that our obligation to pay subcontractors is expressly made subject to the condition precedent that we shall have first received payment, we cannot assure you that these so called “pay-if-paid” or “pay-when-paid” provisions will be recognized in all jurisdictions in which we do business, or that a subcontractor or payment bond surety may not otherwise be entitled to payment or to

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record a lien on the affected property. In such event, we may be required to pay a payment bond surety or the subcontractors we engage even though we have yet to receive our fees as general contractor. This may reduce the profit to be realized or result in a loss on a project for which the services, equipment or materials are needed, which may materially adversely affect us, including our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

Our construction business recognizes certain revenue on a percentage-of-completion basis and upon the achievement of contractual milestones, and any delay or cancellation of a construction project could materially adversely affect our cash flows and results of operations.

Our construction business recognizes certain revenue on a percentage-of-completion basis and, as a result, revenue from our construction business is driven by the performance of our contractual obligations. The percentage-of-completion method of accounting is inherently subjective because it relies on estimates of total project cost as a basis for recognizing revenue and profit. Accordingly, revenue and profit recognized under the percentage-of-completion method is potentially subject to adjustments in subsequent periods based on refinements in the estimated cost to complete a project, which could result in a reduction or reversal of previously recorded revenues and profits. In addition, delays in, or the cancellation of, any particular construction project could adversely impact our ability to recognize revenue in a particular period. Furthermore, changes in job performance, job conditions and estimated profitability, including those arising from contract penalty provisions and final contract settlements, may result in revisions to costs and income in the period in which they are determined. If any of the foregoing were to occur, it could have a material adverse effect on our cash flows and results of operations.

Construction project sites are inherently dangerous workplaces, and, as a result, our failure to maintain safe construction project sites could result in deaths or injuries, reduced profitability, the loss of projects or clients and possible exposure to litigation, any of which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and reputation.

Construction and maintenance sites often put our employees, employees of subcontractors, our tenants and members of the public in close proximity with mechanized equipment, moving vehicles, chemical and manufacturing processes and highly regulated materials. On many sites, we are responsible for safety and, accordingly, must implement safety procedures. If we fail to implement these procedures or if the procedures we implement are ineffective, we may suffer the loss of or injury to our employees, fines or expose our tenants and members of the public to potential injury, thereby creating exposure to litigation. As a result, our failure to maintain adequate safety standards could result in reduced profitability or the loss of projects, clients and tenants, which may materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and our reputation.

Supply shortages and other risks associated with demand for skilled labor could increase construction costs and delay performance of our obligations under construction contracts, which could materially adversely affect the profitability of our construction business, our cash flow and results of operations.

There is a high level of competition in the construction industry for skilled labor. Increased costs, labor shortages or other disruptions in the supply of skilled labor, such as carpenters, roofers, electricians and plumbers, could cause increases in construction costs and construction delays. We may not be able to pass on increases in construction costs because of market conditions or negotiated contractual terms. Sustained increases in construction costs due to competition for skilled labor and delays in performance under construction contracts may materially adversely affect the profitability of our construction business, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

Our failure to successfully and profitably bid on construction contracts could materially adversely affect our results of operations and cash flow.

Many of the costs related to our construction business, such as personnel costs, are fixed and are incurred by us irrespective of the level of activity of our construction business. The success of our construction business depends, in part, on our ability to successfully and profitably bid on construction contracts for private and public sector clients. Contract proposals and negotiations are complex and frequently involve a lengthy bidding and selection process, which can be impacted by a number of factors, many of which are outside our control, including market conditions, financing arrangements and required governmental approvals. If we are unable to maintain a consistent backlog of third-party construction contracts, our results of operations and cash flow could be materially adversely affected.

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If we fail to timely complete a construction project, miss a required performance standard or otherwise fail to adequately perform on a construction project, we may incur losses or financial penalties, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and reputation.

We may contractually commit to a construction client that we will complete a construction project by a scheduled date at a fixed cost. We may also commit that a construction project, when completed, will achieve specified performance standards. If the construction project is not completed by the scheduled date or fails to meet required performance standards, we may either incur significant additional costs or be held responsible for the costs incurred by the client to rectify damages due to late completion or failure to achieve the required performance standards. In addition, completion of projects can be adversely affected by a number of factors beyond our control, including unavoidable delays from governmental inaction, public opposition, inability to obtain financing, weather conditions, unavailability of vendor materials, availabilities of subcontractors, changes in the project scope of services requested by our clients, industrial accidents, environmental hazards, labor disruptions and other factors. In some cases, if we fail to meet required performance standards or milestone requirements, we may also be subject to agreed-upon financial damages in the form of liquidated damages, which are determined pursuant to the contract governing the construction project. To the extent that these events occur, the total costs of the project could exceed our estimates and our contracted cost and we could experience reduced profits or, in some cases, incur a loss on a project, which may materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow. Failure to meet performance standards or complete performance on a timely basis could also adversely affect our reputation.

Unionization or work stoppages could have a material adverse effect on us.

From time to time, our construction business and the subcontractors we engage may use unionized construction workers, which requires us to pay the prevailing wage in a jurisdiction to such workers. Due to the highly labor-intensive and price-competitive nature of the construction business, the cost of unionization or prevailing wage requirements for new developments could be substantial, which could adversely affect our profitability. In addition, the use of unionized construction workers could cause us to become subject to organized work stoppages, which would materially adversely affect our ability to meet our construction timetables and could significantly increase the cost of completing a construction project.

Risks Related to Our Development Business and Property Acquisitions

Our failure to establish new development relationships with public partners and expand our development relationships with existing public partners could have a material adverse effect on us, including our cash flows, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our growth strategy depends significantly on our ability to leverage our extensive experience in completing large, complex, mixed-use public/private projects to establish new relationships with public partners and expand our relationships with existing public partners. Future increases in our revenues may depend significantly on our ability to expand the scope of the work we do with the state and local government agencies with which we currently have partnered and attract new state and local government agencies to undertake public/private development projects with us. Our ability to obtain new work with state and local governmental authorities on new public/private development and financing partnerships could be adversely affected by several factors, including decreases in state and local budgets, changes in administrations, the departure of government personnel with whom we have worked and negative public perceptions about public/private partnerships. In addition, to the extent that we engage in public/private partnerships in states or local communities in which we have not previously worked, we could be subject to risks associated with entry into new markets, such as lack of market knowledge or understanding of the local economy, lack of business relationships in the area and unfamiliarity with local governmental and permitting procedures. If we fail to establish new relationships with public partners and expand our relationships with existing public partners, it could have a material adverse effect on our growth prospects.

We may be unable to identify and complete development opportunities and acquisitions of properties that meet our investment criteria, which may materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and growth prospects.

Our business and growth strategy involves the development and selective acquisition of office, retail and multifamily properties. We may expend significant management time and other resources, including out-of-pocket costs, in pursuing these investment opportunities. Our ability to complete development projects or acquire properties on favorable terms, or at all, may be exposed to the following significant risks:

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If we are unable to identify attractive investment opportunities, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and growth prospects could be materially adversely affected.

The risks associated with land holdings and related activities could have a material adverse effect on us, including our results of operations.

We hold options to acquire undeveloped parcels of land for future development and may in the future acquire additional land holdings for development. The risks inherent in purchasing, owning, and developing land increase as demand for office, retail or multifamily properties, or rental rates, decreases. Real estate markets are highly uncertain and volatile and, as a result, the value of undeveloped land has fluctuated significantly and may continue to fluctuate. In addition, carrying costs, including interest and other pre-development costs, can be significant and can result in losses or reduced profitability. If there are subsequent changes in the fair value of our undeveloped land holdings that cause us to determine that the fair value of our undeveloped land holdings is less than their carrying basis reflected in our financial statements plus estimated costs to sell, we may be required to take future impairment charges which would reduce our net income and could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

The success of our activities to design, construct and develop properties in which we will retain an ownership interest is dependent, in part, on the availability of suitable undeveloped land at acceptable prices as well as our having sufficient liquidity to fund investments in such undeveloped land and subsequent development.

Our success in designing, constructing and developing projects for our own account depends, in part, upon the continued availability of suitable undeveloped land at acceptable prices. The availability of undeveloped land for purchase at favorable 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. In addition, our ability to make land purchases will depend upon us having sufficient liquidity or access to external sources of capital to fund such purchases. Thus, the lack of availability of suitable land opportunities and insufficient liquidity to fund the purchases of any such available land opportunities could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and growth prospects.

Our real estate development activities are subject to risks particular to development, such as unanticipated expenses, delays and other contingencies, any of which could materially adversely affect us, including our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

We engage in development and redevelopment activities and will be subject to the following risks associated with such activities:

These risks could result in substantial unanticipated delays or expenses and, under certain circumstances, could prevent completion of development or redevelopment activities once undertaken, any of which could have an adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

There can be no assurance that all of the properties in our development pipeline will be completed in their entirety in accordance with the anticipated cost, or that we will achieve the results we expect from the development of such properties, which could materially adversely affect our growth prospects, financial condition and results of operations.

The development of the projects in our development pipeline are subject to numerous risks, many of which are outside of our control. The cost necessary to complete the development of our development pipeline could be materially higher than we anticipate. Because we generally intend to commence the construction phase of an office or retail project for our own account only where a substantial percentage of the commercial space is pre-leased, we could decide not to undertake construction on one or more of the projects in our development pipeline if our pre-leasing efforts are unsuccessful. Furthermore, if we are delayed in the completion of any development project, tenants may have the right to terminate pre-development leases, which could materially adversely affect the financial viability of the project. In addition, even if we decide to commence construction on a project, we can provide no assurances that we will complete any of the projects in our development pipeline on the anticipated schedule, or that, once completed, the properties in our development pipeline will achieve the results that we expect. If the development of the projects in our development pipeline is not completed in accordance with our anticipated timing or at the anticipated cost, or the properties fail to achieve the financial results we expect, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

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Our option properties are subject to various risks, and we may not be able to acquire them.

We have options to acquire from certain of our officers and directors certain parcels of developable land. These parcels are exposed to many of the same risks that may affect the other properties in our portfolio. The terms of the option agreements relating to these parcels were not determined by arm’s-length negotiations, and such terms may be less favorable to us than those that may have been obtained through negotiations with third parties. In addition, it may become economically unattractive to exercise our options with respect to these parcels, which could cause us to decide not to exercise our option to purchase these parcels in the future. In such event, or in the event that the option agreements expire by their terms, the parcels could be sold to one of our competitors without restriction. Because our officers and directors own economic interests in these parcels, our decision to exercise or refrain from exercising such options will create conflicts of interest.

Risks Related to the Real Estate Industry

Our business is subject to risks associated with real estate assets and the real estate industry, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

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

In addition, periods of economic downturn or recession, rising interest rates or declining demand for real estate, or the public perception that any of these events may occur, could result in a general decline in rents or an increased incidence of defaults under existing leases, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, cash available for distribution and our ability to service our debt obligations.

Illiquidity of real estate investments could significantly impede our ability to respond to adverse changes in the performance of our properties and harm our financial condition.

The real estate investments made, and to be made, by us are difficult to sell quickly. As a result, our ability to promptly sell one or more properties in our portfolio in response to changing economic, financial and investment conditions is limited. Return of capital and realization of gains, if any, from an investment generally will occur upon disposition or refinancing of the underlying property. We may be unable to realize our investment objectives by disposition or refinancing at attractive prices within any given period of time or may otherwise be unable to complete any exit strategy. In particular, our ability to dispose of one or more properties within a specific time period is subject to certain limitations imposed by our tax protection agreements, as well as weakness in or even the lack

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of an established market for a property, changes in the financial condition or prospects of prospective purchasers, changes in national or international economic conditions and changes in laws, regulations or fiscal policies of jurisdictions in which the property is located.

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

Our property taxes could increase due to property tax rate changes or reassessment, which would adversely impact our cash flows.

Even if we qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we will be required to pay some state and local taxes on our properties. The real property taxes on our properties may increase as property tax rates change or as our properties are assessed or reassessed by taxing authorities. Therefore, the amount of property taxes we pay in the future may increase substantially from what we have paid in the past. If the property taxes we pay increase, our cash flow would be adversely impacted, and our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders could be adversely affected.

As an owner of real estate, we could incur significant costs and liabilities related to environmental matters.

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

Some of our properties have been or may be impacted by contamination arising from current or prior uses of the property, or adjacent properties, for commercial or industrial purposes. Such contamination may arise from spills of petroleum or hazardous substances or releases from tanks used to store such materials. For example, some of the tenants of properties in our retail portfolio operate gas stations or other businesses that utilize storage tanks to store petroleum products, propane or wastes typically associated with automobile service or other operations conducted at the properties, and spills or leaks of hazardous materials from those storage tanks could expose us to liability. See “Part I—Business—Regulation—Environmental Matters.” In addition to the foregoing, while we obtained Phase I Environmental Site Assessments for each of the properties in our portfolio, the assessments are limited in scope and may have failed to identify all environmental conditions or concerns. For example, they do not generally include soil sampling, subsurface investigations or hazardous materials survey. Furthermore, we do not have current Phase I Environmental Site Assessment reports for all of the properties in our portfolio and, as such, may not be aware of all potential or existing environmental contamination liabilities at the properties in our portfolio. As a result, we could potentially incur material liability for these issues.

As the owner of the buildings on our properties, we could face liability for the presence of hazardous materials, such as asbestos or lead, or other adverse conditions, such as poor indoor air quality, in our buildings. Environmental laws govern the presence, maintenance, and removal of hazardous materials in buildings, and if we do not comply with such laws, we could face fines for such noncompliance. Also, we could be liable to third parties, such as occupants of the buildings, for damages related to exposure to hazardous materials or adverse conditions in our buildings, and we could incur material expenses with respect to abatement or remediation of hazardous materials or other adverse conditions in our buildings. In addition, some of our tenants routinely may handle and use hazardous or regulated substances and wastes as part of their operations at our properties, which are subject to regulation. Such environmental and health and safety laws and regulations could subject us or our tenants to liability resulting from these activities. Environmental liabilities could affect a tenant’s ability to make rental payments to us, and changes in laws could increase the potential liability for noncompliance. This may result in significant unanticipated expenditures or may otherwise materially and adversely affect our operations, or those of our tenants, which could in turn have an adverse effect on us. If we incur material environmental liabilities in the future, we may face significant remediation costs, and we may find it difficult to sell any affected properties.

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Our properties may contain or develop harmful mold or suffer from other air quality issues, which could lead to liability for adverse health effects and costs of remediation.

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

We may incur significant costs complying with various federal, state and local laws, regulations and covenants that are applicable to our properties.

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

In addition, federal and state laws and regulations, including laws such as the ADA and the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988 (“FHAA”), impose further restrictions on our properties and operations. Under the ADA and the FHAA, all public accommodations must meet federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Some of our properties may currently be in non-compliance with the ADA or the FHAA. If one or more of the properties in our portfolio is not in compliance with the ADA, the FHAA or any other regulatory requirements, we may incur additional costs to bring the property into compliance, incur governmental fines or the award of damages to private litigants or be unable to refinance such properties. In addition, we do not know whether existing requirements will change or whether future requirements will require us to make significant unanticipated expenditures that will adversely impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure

Daniel Hoffler and his affiliates own, directly or indirectly, a substantial beneficial interest in our company on a fully diluted basis and has the ability to exercise significant influence on our company and our Operating Partnership, including the approval of significant corporate transactions.

As of December 31, 2014, Daniel Hoffler, our Executive Chairman, and his affiliates owned approximately 12% and, collectively, Messrs. Hoffler, Haddad and Kirk and their affiliates collectively owned approximately 21% of the combined outstanding shares of our common stock and OP Units of our Operating Partnership (which OP Units may be redeemable for shares of our common stock). Consequently, these individuals may be able to significantly influence the outcome of matters submitted for stockholder action, including the approval of significant corporate transactions, including business combinations, consolidations and mergers.

Conflicts of interest may exist or could arise in the future between the interests of our stockholders and the interests of holders of units in our Operating Partnership, which may impede business decisions that could benefit our stockholders.

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

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Under Virginia law, a general partner of a Virginia limited partnership has fiduciary duties of loyalty and care to the partnership and its partners and must discharge its duties and exercise its rights as general partner under the partnership agreement or Virginia law consistently with the obligation of good faith and fair dealing. The partnership agreement provides that, in the event of a conflict between the interests of our Operating Partnership or any partner, on the one hand, and the separate interests of our company or our stockholders, on the other hand, we, in our capacity as the general partner of our Operating Partnership, are under no obligation not to give priority to the separate interests of our company or our stockholders, and that any action or failure to act on our part or on the part of our directors that gives priority to the separate interests of our company or our stockholders that does not result in a violation of the contract rights of the limited partners of the Operating Partnership under its partnership agreement does not violate the duty of loyalty that we, in our capacity as the general partner of our Operating Partnership, owe to the Operating Partnership and its partners.

Additionally, the partnership agreement provides that we will not be liable to the Operating Partnership or any partner for monetary damages for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived by the Operating Partnership or any limited partner, except for liability for our intentional harm or gross negligence. Our Operating Partnership must indemnify us, our directors and officers and our designees from and against any and all claims that relate to the operations of our Operating Partnership, unless: (i) an act or omission of the person was material to the matter giving rise to the action and either was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, (ii) the person actually received an improper personal benefit in violation or breach of the partnership agreement or (iii) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the indemnified person had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful. Our Operating Partnership must also pay or reimburse the reasonable expenses of any such person upon its receipt of a written affirmation of the person’s good faith belief that the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification has been met and a written undertaking to repay any amounts paid or advanced if it is ultimately determined that the person did not meet the standard of conduct for indemnification. Our Operating Partnership will not indemnify or advance funds to any person with respect to any action initiated by the person seeking indemnification without our approval (except for any proceeding brought to enforce such person’s right to indemnification under the partnership agreement) or if the person is found to be liable to our Operating Partnership on any portion of any claim in the action.

We may be subject to unknown or contingent liabilities related to acquired properties and properties that we may acquire in the future, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

Properties that we have acquired, and properties that we may acquire in the future, may be subject to unknown or contingent liabilities for which we may have no recourse, or only limited recourse, against the sellers. In general, the representations and warranties provided under the transaction agreements related to the purchase of properties that we acquire may not survive the completion of the transactions. Furthermore, indemnification under such agreements may be limited and subject to various materiality thresholds, a significant deductible or an aggregate cap on losses. As a result, there is no guarantee that we will recover any amounts with respect to losses due to breaches by the sellers of their representations and warranties. In addition, the total amount of costs and expenses that may be incurred with respect to liabilities associated with these properties may exceed our expectations, and we may experience other unanticipated adverse effects, all of which may materially and adversely affect us.

Our charter contains certain provisions restricting the ownership and transfer of our stock that may delay, defer or prevent a change of control transaction that might involve a premium price for our common stock or that our stockholders otherwise believe to be in their best interests.

Our charter contains certain ownership limits with respect to our stock. Our charter, among other restrictions, prohibits the beneficial or constructive ownership by any person of more than 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of any class or series of our stock, excluding any shares that are not treated as outstanding for federal income tax purposes. Our board of directors, in its sole and absolute discretion, may exempt a person, prospectively or retroactively, from this ownership limit if certain conditions are satisfied. This ownership limit as well as other restrictions on ownership and transfer of our stock in our charter may:

We could increase the number of authorized shares of stock, classify and reclassify unissued stock and issue stock without stockholder approval.

Our board of directors, without stockholder approval, has the power under our charter to amend our charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we are authorized to issue. In addition, under our charter, our board of directors, without stockholder approval, has the power to authorize us to issue authorized but unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock and to classify or reclassify any unissued shares of our common stock or

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preferred stock into one or more classes or series of stock and set the preference, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends and other distributions, qualifications or terms or conditions of redemption for such newly classified or reclassified shares. As a result, we may issue series or classes of common stock or preferred stock with preferences, dividends, powers and rights, voting or otherwise, that are senior to, or otherwise conflict with, the rights of holders of our common stock. Although our board of directors has no such intention at the present time, it could establish a class or series of preferred stock that could, depending on the terms of such series, delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or that our stockholders otherwise believe to be in their best interests.

Certain provisions of Maryland law could inhibit changes of control, which may discourage third parties from conducting a tender offer or seeking other change of control transactions that could involve a premium price for our common stock or that our stockholders otherwise believe to be in their best interests.

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

By resolution of our board of directors, we have opted out of the business combination provisions of the MGCL and provided that any business combination between us and any other person is exempt from the business combination provisions of the MGCL, provided that the business combination is first approved by our board of directors (including a majority of directors who are not affiliates or associates of such persons). In addition, pursuant to a provision in our bylaws, we have opted out of the control share provisions of the MGCL. However, our board of directors may by resolution elect to opt in to the business combination provisions of the MGCL and we may, by amendment to our bylaws, opt in to the control share provisions of the MGCL in the future.

Certain provisions of the MGCL permit our board of directors, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to implement certain corporate governance provisions, some of which (for example, a classified board) are not currently applicable to us. If implemented, these provisions may have the effect of limiting or precluding a third party from making an unsolicited acquisition proposal for us or of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of shares of our common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then current market price. Our charter contains a provision whereby we elect, at such time as we become eligible to do so, to be subject to the provisions of Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL relating to the filling of vacancies on our board of directors.

Certain provisions in the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership may delay or prevent unsolicited acquisitions of us.

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

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The limited partners in our Operating Partnership owned approximately 37.1% of the outstanding OP Units of our Operating Partnership as of December 31, 2014.

Our tax protection agreements could limit our ability to sell or otherwise dispose of certain properties.

In connection with the formation transactions related to our initial public offering, our Operating Partnership entered into tax protection agreements that provide that if we dispose of any interest in the certain protected properties in a taxable transaction prior to the seventh (or, in a limited number of cases, the tenth) anniversary of the completion of the formation transactions, subject to certain exceptions, we will indemnify certain contributors, including Messrs. Hoffler, Haddad, Kirk, Nero and Apperson and their respective affiliates and certain of our other officers, for their tax liabilities attributable to the built-in gain that existed with respect to such property interests as of the time of our initial public offering, and the tax liabilities incurred as a result of such tax protection payment. In addition, in connection with certain acquisitions in 2014, we entered into tax protection agreements that require us to indemnify the contributors for their tax liabilities in the event that we dispose of the properties subject to the tax protection agreements, and may enter into similar agreements in connection with future property acquisitions. Therefore, although it may be in our stockholders’ best interests that we sell one of these properties, it may be economically prohibitive for us to do so because of these obligations. Moreover, as a result of these potential tax liabilities, Messrs. Hoffler, Haddad, Kirk, Nero and Apperson and certain of our other officers may have a conflict of interest with respect to our determination as to certain of our properties.

Our tax protection agreements may require our Operating Partnership to maintain certain debt levels that otherwise would not be required to operate our business.

Under our tax protection agreements, our Operating Partnership has agreed to provide certain contributors of properties we have acquired, including Messrs. Hoffler, Haddad, Kirk, Nero and Apperson and their respective affiliates and certain of our other officers, the opportunity to guarantee debt or enter into deficit restoration obligations upon a future repayment, retirement, refinancing or other reduction (other than scheduled amortization) of currently outstanding debt. If we fail to make such opportunities available, we will be required to deliver to each such contributor a cash payment intended to approximate the contributor’s tax liability resulting from our failure to make such opportunities available to that contributor and the tax liabilities incurred as a result of such tax protection payment. We agreed to these provisions in order to assist our contributors in deferring the recognition of taxable gain as a result of the contribution of certain properties to us. These obligations may require us to maintain more or different indebtedness than we would otherwise require for our business.

We may pursue less vigorous enforcement of terms of certain agreements with members of our senior management and our affiliates because of our dependence on them and conflicts of interest.

Each of Messrs. Hoffler, Haddad and Kirk, our Executive Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of the Board, respectively, were parties to or had interests in contribution agreements with us pursuant to which we acquired interests in our properties and assets. In addition, we have entered into option agreements with certain of our officers and directors, or entities they control, with respect to certain parcels of developable land. We may choose not to enforce, or to enforce less vigorously, our rights under these agreements because of our desire to maintain our ongoing relationships with members of our board of directors and our management, with possible negative impact on stockholders.

Our board of directors may change our strategies, policies and procedures without stockholder approval and we may become more highly leveraged, which may increase our risk of default under our debt obligations.

Our investment, financing, leverage and distribution policies, and our policies with respect to all other activities, including growth, capitalization and operations, will be determined exclusively by our board of directors, and may be amended or revised at any time by our board of directors without notice to or a vote of our stockholders. This could result in us conducting operational matters, making investments or pursuing different business or growth strategies than those contemplated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Further, our charter and bylaws do not limit the amount or percentage of indebtedness, funded or otherwise, that we may incur. Our board of directors may alter or eliminate our current policy on borrowing at any time without stockholder approval. If this policy changed, we could become more highly leveraged which could result in an increase in our debt service. Higher leverage also increases the risk of default on our obligations. In addition, a change in our investment policies, including the manner in which we allocate our resources across our portfolio or the types of assets in which we seek to invest, may increase our exposure to interest rate risk, real estate market fluctuations and liquidity risk. Changes to our policies with regards to the foregoing could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

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Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited.

Under Maryland law, generally, a director will not be liable if he or she performs his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in our best interests and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. In addition, our charter limits the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from:

Our charter authorizes us to indemnify our directors and officers for actions taken by them in those capacities to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. Our bylaws require us to indemnify each director and officer, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of his or her service to us. In addition, we may be obligated to advance the defense costs incurred by our directors and officers. We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our executive officers and directors whereby we agreed to indemnify our directors and executive officers to the fullest extent permitted by Maryland law against all expenses and liabilities incurred in their capacity as an officer or director, subject to limited exceptions. As a result, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against our directors and officers than might otherwise exist absent the current provisions in our charter and bylaws or that might exist with other companies.

We are a holding company with no direct operations and, as such, we will rely on funds received from our Operating Partnership to pay liabilities, and the interests of our stockholders will be structurally subordinated to all liabilities and obligations of our Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries.

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

Our Operating Partnership may issue additional OP Units to third parties without the consent of our stockholders, which would reduce our ownership percentage in our Operating Partnership and could have a dilutive effect on the amount of distributions made to us by our Operating Partnership and, therefore, the amount of distributions we can make to our stockholders.

As of December 31, 2014, we owned 62.9% of the outstanding OP Units in our Operating Partnership. We may, in connection with our acquisition of properties or otherwise, issue additional OP Units to third parties. For instance, we currently expect to issue OP Units in connection with the acquisition of certain properties that we have under contract. Such issuances would reduce our ownership percentage in our Operating Partnership and could affect the amount of distributions made to us by our Operating Partnership and, therefore, the amount of distributions we can make to our stockholders. Because stockholders do not directly own OP Units, you do not have any voting rights with respect to any such issuances or other partnership level activities of our Operating Partnership.

Risks Related to Our Status as a REIT

Failure to qualify as a REIT, or failure to remain qualified as a REIT, would cause us to be taxed as a regular corporation, which would substantially reduce funds available for distribution to our stockholders.

We have elected to be taxed and to operate in a manner that will allow us to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013. We have not requested and do not plan to request a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) that we qualify as a REIT. Therefore, we cannot be assured that we will qualify as a REIT, or that we will remain qualified as such in the future. If we fail to qualify as a REIT or otherwise lose our REIT status in any taxable year, we will face serious tax consequences that would substantially reduce the funds available for distribution to our stockholders for each of the years involved because:

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In addition, if we fail to qualify as a REIT, we will no longer be required to make distributions. As a result of all these factors, our failure to qualify as a REIT could impair our ability to expand our business and raise capital, and it would adversely affect the value of our common stock.

Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may face other tax liabilities that reduce our cash flows.

Even if we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income, tax on income from some activities conducted as a result of a foreclosure, and state or local income, property and transfer taxes. In addition, our TRS will be subject to regular corporate federal, state and local taxes. Any of these taxes would decrease cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

Failure to make required distributions would subject us to U.S. federal corporate income tax.

We intend to continue to operate in a manner so as to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. In order to qualify as a REIT, we generally are required to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and excluding any net capital gain, each year to our stockholders. To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under the Code.

Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities or liquidate otherwise attractive investments.

To qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders and the ownership of our capital stock. In order to meet these tests, we may be required to forego investments we might otherwise make. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our performance.

In particular, we must ensure that at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities and qualified real estate assets. The remainder of our investment in securities (other than government securities, securities of TRSs and qualified real estate assets) generally cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our assets (other than government securities, securities of TRSs and qualified real estate assets) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 25% of the value of our total assets can be represented by the securities of one or more TRSs. If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax consequences. As a result, we may be required to liquidate otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

The prohibited transactions tax may limit our ability to dispose of our properties.

A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of property other than foreclosure property, held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. We may be subject to the prohibited transaction tax equal to 100% of the net gain upon a disposition of real property. Although a safe harbor to the characterization of the sale of real property by a REIT as a prohibited transaction is available, we cannot assure you that we can comply with the safe harbor or that we will avoid owning property that may be characterized as held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. Consequently, we may choose not to engage in certain sales of our properties or may conduct such sales through our TRS, which would be subject to federal and state income taxation.

We may pay taxable dividends in shares of our common stock and cash, in which case stockholders may sell shares of our common stock to pay tax on such dividends, placing downward pressure on the market price of our common stock.

We may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in cash and common stock at the election of each stockholder. The IRS has issued private letter rulings to other REITs treating certain distributions that are paid partly in cash and partly in stock as taxable dividends that would satisfy the REIT annual distribution requirement and qualify for the dividends paid deduction for U.S. federal

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income tax purposes. Those rulings may be relied upon only by taxpayers to whom they were issued, but we could request a similar ruling from the IRS. In addition, the IRS previously issued a revenue procedure authorizing publicly traded REITs to make elective cash/stock dividends, but that revenue procedure does not apply to our 2013 and future taxable years. Accordingly, it is unclear whether and to what extent we will be able to make taxable dividends payable in cash and common stock.

If we made a taxable dividend payable in cash and common stock, taxable stockholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits, as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, stockholders may be required to pay income tax with respect to such dividends in excess of the cash dividends received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the common stock that it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our common stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to certain non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in common stock. If we made a taxable dividend payable in cash and our common stock and a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our common stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price of our common stock. We do not currently intend to pay taxable dividends of our common stock and cash, although we may choose to do so in the future.

The ability of our board of directors to revoke our REIT qualification without stockholder approval may cause adverse consequences to our stockholders.

Our charter provides that our board of directors may revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT. If we cease to qualify as a REIT, we would become subject to U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income and would no longer be required to distribute most of our taxable income to our stockholders, which may have adverse consequences on our total return to our stockholders.

Our ownership of our TRS will be subject to limitations and our transactions with our TRS will cause us to be subject to a 100% penalty tax on certain income or deductions if those transactions are not conducted on arm’s-length terms.

Overall, no more than 25% of the value of a REIT’s assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more TRS. In addition, the Code limits the deductibility of interest paid or accrued by a TRS to its parent REIT to assure that the TRS is subject to an appropriate level of corporate taxation. The Code also imposes a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis. Furthermore, we will monitor the value of our respective investments in our TRS for the purpose of ensuring compliance with TRS ownership limitations and will structure our transactions with our TRS on terms that we believe are arm’s length to avoid incurring the 100% excise tax described above. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to comply with the 25% REIT subsidiaries limitation or to avoid application of the 100% excise tax.

You may be restricted from acquiring or transferring certain amounts of our common stock.

The restrictions on ownership and transfer in our charter may inhibit market activity in our capital stock and restrict our business combination opportunities.

In order to qualify as a REIT for each taxable year after 2013, five or fewer individuals, as defined in the Code, may not own, beneficially or constructively, more than 50% in value of our issued and outstanding stock at any time during the last half of a taxable year. Attribution rules in the Code determine if any individual or entity beneficially or constructively owns our capital stock under this requirement. Additionally, at least 100 persons must beneficially own our capital stock during at least 335 days of a taxable year for each taxable year after 2013. To help insure that we meet these tests, our charter restricts the acquisition and ownership of shares of our capital stock.

Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our directors to take such actions as are necessary to preserve our qualification as a REIT. Unless exempted by our board of directors, our charter prohibits any person from beneficially or constructively owning more than 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the outstanding shares of any class or series of our capital stock. Our board of directors may not grant an exemption from this restriction to any proposed transferee whose ownership in excess of 9.8% of the value of our outstanding shares would result in our failing to qualify as a REIT. This as well as other restrictions on transferability and ownership will not apply, however, if our board of directors determines that it is no longer in our best interests to continue to qualify as a REIT.

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Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates available for some dividends.

The maximum tax rate applicable to “qualified dividend income” payable to U.S. stockholders that are taxed at individual rates is 20%. Dividends payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for the reduced rates on qualified dividend income. The more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate qualified dividends could cause investors who taxed at individual rates to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the shares of REITs, including our common stock.

We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes that could reduce the market price of our common stock.

At any time, the U.S. federal income tax laws governing REITs or the administrative interpretations of those laws may be amended. We cannot predict when or if any new U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, or any amendment to any existing U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, will be adopted, promulgated or become effective and any such law, regulation, or interpretation may take effect retroactively. We and our stockholders could be adversely affected by any such change in the U.S. federal income tax laws, regulations or administrative interpretations.

If our Operating Partnership failed to qualify as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, we would cease to qualify as a REIT and suffer other adverse consequences.

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

To maintain our REIT status, we may be forced to borrow funds during unfavorable market conditions, and the unavailability of such capital on favorable terms at the desired times, or at all, may cause us to curtail our investment activities or dispose of assets at inopportune times or on unfavorable terms, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow.

To qualify as a REIT, we generally must distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income each year, excluding net capital gains, and we will be subject to regular corporate income taxes to the extent that we distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income each year. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which distributions paid by us in any calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of our ordinary income, 95% of our capital gain net income and 100% of our undistributed income from prior years. In order to maintain our REIT status and avoid the payment of income and excise taxes, we may need to borrow funds to meet the REIT distribution requirements even if the then prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings. These borrowing needs could result from, among other things, differences in timing between the actual receipt of cash and inclusion of income for federal income tax purposes, or the effect of non-deductible capital expenditures, the creation of reserves or required principal or amortization payments. These sources, however, may not be available on favorable terms or at all. Our access to third-party sources of capital depends on a number of factors, including the market’s perception of our growth potential, our current debt levels, the market price of our common stock, and our current and potential future earnings. We cannot assure you that we will have access to such capital on favorable terms at the desired times, or at all, which may cause us to curtail our investment activities or dispose of assets at inopportune times or on unfavorable terms, which could materially adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

We may be unable to make distributions at expected levels, which could result in a decrease in the market price of our common stock.

We intend to continue to pay regular quarterly distributions to our stockholders. All distributions will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will be based upon, among other factors, our historical and projected results of operations, financial condition, cash flows and liquidity, maintenance of our REIT qualification and other tax considerations, capital expenditure and other expense obligations, debt covenants, contractual prohibitions or other limitations and applicable law and such other matters as our board of directors may deem relevant from time to time. If sufficient cash is not available for distribution from our operations, we may have to fund distributions from working capital, borrow to provide funds for such distributions, or reduce the amount of such distributions. To the extent we borrow to fund distributions, our future interest costs would increase, thereby reducing our earnings

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and cash available for distribution from what they otherwise would have been. If cash available for distribution generated by our assets is less than our current estimate, or if such cash available for distribution decreases in future periods from expected levels, our inability to make the expected distributions could result in a decrease in the market price of our common stock.

Our ability to make distributions may also be limited by our new credit facility. Under the terms of the credit facility, our ability to make distributions during any twelve-month period is limited to the greater of (1) 95% of our adjusted funds from operations (as defined in the credit agreement) or (2) the amount required for us to (a) maintain our REIT status and (b) avoid the payment of federal or state income or excise tax. In addition, if a default or events of default exist or would result from a distribution, we are precluded from making certain distributions other than those required to allow us to maintain our status as a REIT.

As a result of the foregoing, we may not be able to make distributions in the future, and our inability to make distributions, or to make distributions at expected levels, could result in a decrease in the market price of our common stock.

The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile and could decline substantially in the future.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile in the future. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. We cannot assure stockholders that the market price of our common stock will not fluctuate or decline significantly in the future, including as a result of factors unrelated to our operating performance or prospects. In particular, the market price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of factors, including, among others, the following:

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the price of their common stock. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention and resources, which could have a material adverse effect on us, including our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and the per share trading price of our common stock.

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Increases in market interest rates may have an adverse effect on the trading prices of our common stock as prospective purchasers of our common stock may expect a higher dividend yield and as an increased cost of borrowing may decrease our funds available for distribution.

One of the factors that will influence the trading prices of our common stock will be the dividend yield on the common stock (as a percentage of the price of our common stock) relative to market interest rates. An increase in market interest rates, which are currently at low levels relative to historical rates, may lead prospective purchasers of our common stock to expect a higher dividend yield (with a resulting decline in the trading prices of our common stock) and higher interest rates would likely increase our borrowing costs and potentially decrease funds available for distribution. Thus, higher market interest rates could cause the market price of our common stock to decrease.

The number of shares of our common stock available for future issuance or sale could materially adversely affect the per share trading price of our common stock.

As of March 13, 2015, there were 25,081,267 shares of our common stock outstanding. In addition, as of March 13, 2015, there were 14,775,967 OP Units in our Operating Partnership outstanding, of which 13,755,015 OP Units are currently redeemable at the option of the holders and 990,952 OP Units will become redeemable by the holders in August 2015, in each case, for cash, or at our option, for shares of our common stock, on a one-for-one basis. We have agreed to register the shares issuable upon redemption of the OP Units so that such shares will be freely tradable under the securities laws. In addition, any OP Units we issue in the future in connection with property acquisitions will be redeemable at the option of the holders for cash or shares of our common stock on a one-for-one basis beginning one year after the date of issuance of such OP Units.

We cannot predict whether future issuances or sales of shares of our common stock or the availability of shares for resale in the open market will decrease the per share trading price per share of our common stock. The per share trading price of our common stock may decline significantly when we register the shares of our common stock issuable upon redemption of outstanding OP Units.

The issuance of substantial numbers of shares of equity securities, including OP Units, or the perception that such issuances might occur could materially adversely affect us, including the per share trading price of shares of our common stock.

The redemption of OP Units for common stock, the vesting of any restricted stock granted to certain directors, executive officers and other employees under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan, the issuance of our common stock or OP Units in connection with future property, portfolio or business acquisitions and other issuances of our common stock could have an adverse effect on the per share trading price of our common stock, and the existence of units, options or shares of our common stock issuable under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan or upon redemption of OP Units may adversely affect the terms upon which we may be able to obtain additional capital through the sale of equity securities. In addition, future issuances of shares of our common stock or OP Units may be dilutive to existing stockholders.

Future offerings of debt, which would be senior to our common stock upon liquidation, and preferred equity securities, which may be senior to our common stock for purposes of dividend distributions or upon liquidation, may materially adversely affect us, including the per share trading price of our common stock.

In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by making additional offerings of debt or equity securities (or causing our Operating Partnership to issue debt securities), including medium-term notes, senior or subordinated notes and classes or series of preferred stock. Upon liquidation, holders of our debt securities and shares of preferred stock and lenders with respect to other borrowings will be entitled to receive our available assets prior to distribution to the holders of our common stock. Additionally, any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock and may result in dilution to owners of our common stock. Holders of our common stock are not entitled to preemptive rights or other protections against dilution. Our preferred stock, if issued, could have a preference on liquidating distributions or a preference on dividend payments that could limit our ability pay dividends to the holders of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, our stockholders bear the risk that our future offerings could reduce the per share trading price of our common stock and dilute their interest in us.

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None.

The information set forth under the captions “Our Properties” and “Development Pipeline” in Item 1 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is incorporated by reference herein.

The nature of our business exposes our properties, us and the Operating Partnership to the risk of claims and litigation in the normal course of business. Other than routine litigation arising out of the ordinary course of business, we are not presently subject to any material litigation nor, to our knowledge, is any material litigation threatened against us.

Not Applicable.

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PART II

Market Information

Our common stock trades on the NYSE under the symbol “AHH.” Below is a summary of the high and low prices of our common stock for each quarterly period since May 8, 2013, the date our common stock began trading on the NYSE, and the cash distributions per share declared by us with respect to each period.

On December 31, 2014 and March 13, 2015, the closing price of our common stock as reported on the NYSE was $9.49 and $10.48, respectively.

Stock Performance Graph

The following graph sets forth the cumulative total stockholder return (assuming reinvestment of dividends) to our stockholders during the period May 8, 2013, the date our common stock began trading on the NYSE, through December 31, 2014, as well as the corresponding returns on an overall stock market index (Russell 2000 Index) and a peer group index (MSCI US REIT Index). The stock performance graph assumes that $100 was invested on May 8, 2013. Historical total stockholder return is not necessarily indicative of future results. The information in this paragraph and the following graph shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C, other than as provided in Item 201 of Regulation S-K, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, except to the extent we specifically request that such information be treated as soliciting material or specifically incorporate it by reference into a filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

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Distribution Information

Since our initial quarter as a publicly-traded REIT, we have made regular quarterly distributions to our stockholders. We intend to continue to declare quarterly distributions. However, we cannot provide any assurance as to the amount or timing of future distributions. For a description of restrictions on our ability to make distributions, see “Item 7—Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—New Credit Facility,” and Note 7, “Indebtedness” to our accompanying consolidated and combined financial statements.

Any future distributions will be at the sole discretion of our board of directors, and their form, timing and amount, if any, will depend upon a number of factors, including our actual and projected financial condition, liquidity, EBITDA, FFO and results of operations, the revenue we actually receive from our properties, our operating expenses, our debt service requirements, our capital expenditures, prohibitions and other limitations under our financing arrangements, as described above, our REIT taxable income, the annual REIT distribution requirements, applicable law and such other factors as our board of directors deems relevant. To the extent that our cash available for distribution is less than 90% of our REIT taxable income, we may consider various means to cover any such shortfall, including borrowing under our new credit facility or other loans, selling certain of our assets or using a portion of the net proceeds we receive from offerings of equity, equity-related or debt securities or declaring taxable share dividends.

To the extent that we make distributions in excess of our earnings and profits, as computed for federal income tax purposes, these distributions will represent a return of capital, rather than a dividend, for federal income tax purposes. Distributions that are treated as a return of capital for federal income tax purposes will reduce the stockholder’s basis in its shares (but not below zero) and therefore can result in the stockholder having a higher gain upon a subsequent sale of such shares. Return of capital distributions in excess of a stockholder’s basis generally will be treated as gain from the sale of such shares for federal income tax purposes.

Stockholder Information

As of March 13, 2015, there were approximately 90 holders of record of our common stock. However, because many shares of our common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we believe there are substantially more beneficial holders of our common stock than record holders. As of March 13, 2015, there were 59 holders (other than our company) of our OP units. Our OP units are redeemable for cash or, at our election, for shares of our common stock.

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

During the three months ended December 31, 2014, certain of our employees surrendered shares of common stock owned by them to satisfy their minimum statutory federal and state tax obligations associated with the vesting of restricted shares of common stock issued under our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan. The following table summarizes all of these repurchases during the three months ended December 31, 2014.

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The following selected historical consolidated and combined financial information should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the historical consolidated and combined financial statements as of December 31, 2014 and 2013 and for the three years ended December 31, 2014 and the related notes included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We completed our initial public offering on May 13, 2013. Due to the timing of the initial public offering, we present herein certain consolidated and combined historical financial data for us and our predecessor. Our predecessor was not a legal entity, but rather a combination of certain real estate and construction entities. The historical combined financial data for our predecessor is not necessarily indicative of our results of operations, cash flows or financial position following the completion of the initial public offering.

The selected historical consolidated and combined financial information as of and for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 and 2010 has been derived from our audited historical financial statements. Due to the timing of the initial public offering, the results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010 reflect only the financial condition and results of operations of our predecessor. The results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2013 reflect the financial condition and results of operations of our predecessor together with our company.