Correspondence 0001873923-24-000062 from Orion Office REIT Inc. (ONL) (CIK 0001873923) (ONL)
Orion Office REIT Inc. (ONL) (CIK 0001873923)
Date: May 8, 2024 · CIK: 0001873923 · Accession: 0001873923-24-000062
AI Filing Summary & Sentiment
File numbers found in text: 001-40873
Referenced dates: April 26, 2024
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CORRESP 1 filename1.htm orionofficereitincrespon Orion Office REIT Inc. 2398 E. Camelback Road, Suite 1060, Phoenix, AZ 85016 New York Stock Exchange Symbol “ONL” May 8, 2024 VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION (EDGAR) Peter McPhun Accountant U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission 100 F Street, N.E. Washington, DC 20549 Re: Orion Office REIT Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 Filed February 27, 2024 File No. 001-40873 Dear Mr. McPhun: I am in receipt of the Division of Corporation Finance’s (“your” or the “Staff”) comment letter dated April 26, 2024 with respect to Orion Office REIT Inc.’s (“we” or “Orion”) Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (File No. 001-40873), submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 27, 2024 (the “10-K”). Set forth below are Orion’s responses to your comments. For your convenience, each response is prefaced by the exact text of the Staff’s corresponding comment in bold text. All references to page numbers and captions correspond to the 10-K unless otherwise specified. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 Part I Item 1. Business, page 4 1. We note your risk disclosure on page 11 that some of your leases have early termination provisions. Please tell us, and in future filings, please clarify, the percentage of your occupied properties that have tenants with early termination provisions and discuss the impact to you from tenants exercising such provisions, including the number of tenants that have exercised that provision over the past two years and the amount of impacted square footage. Response: As of December 31, 2023, 7.2% of our leased square footage was subject to early termination provisions. During each of the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2023, one tenant exercised an early termination option, which resulted in the termination of an approximately 105,000 square foot lease in the year ended December 31, 2022, and the partial termination of approximately 30,000 square feet under an approximately 200,000 2 square foot lease in the year ended December 31, 2023. We intend to revise the relevant risk factor in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2024, substantially as set forth below. To facilitate the Staff’s review, our proposed new disclosures have been underlined. Some of our leases provide tenants with the right to terminate their leases early, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Certain of our leases permit our tenants to terminate their leases as to all or a portion of their leased premises prior to their stated lease expiration dates under certain circumstances, such as providing notice by a certain date and, in most cases, paying a termination fee. As of [December 31], 202[_], [___]% of our leased square footage was subject to early termination provisions. During the years ended December 31, 202[_] and 202[_], a total of [___] and [___] tenants, representing a total of [_______] and [______ ] square feet, respectively, exercised early termination options. To the extent that our tenants exercise early termination rights, our cash flow and earnings will be adversely affected, and we can provide no assurances that we will be able to generate an equivalent amount of net effective rent by leasing the vacated space to new third-party tenants. If our tenants elect to terminate their leases early, it may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Item 1A. Risk Factors We could experience difficulties or delays renewing leases . . . , page 8 2. In future Exchange Act filings, please update this risk factor to highlight, including in the risk factor title, that 27.9% of your total portfolio with respect to Annualized Base Rent is set to expire in 2024, as indicated by the table on page 28. Response: We acknowledge the Staff’s comment and in future Exchange Act filings, we will add disclosure of the percentage of leases that are scheduled to expire in the upcoming year to the subject risk factor. We intend to revise the relevant risk factor in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2024, substantially as set forth below. To facilitate the Staff’s review, our proposed new disclosures have been underlined. Leases representing approximately [____]% of our annualized based rent are scheduled to expire in 2025, and we could experience difficulties or delays renewing leases or re-leasing space, which will increase our costs to operate and maintain such properties without receiving income. We derive nearly all of our net income from rent received from our tenants, and our profitability is significantly dependent upon our ability to minimize vacancies in our properties and ensure our tenants timely pay rent at an attractive rate. If a tenant experiences a downturn in its business or other types of financial distress, it may be unable to make timely rental payments. If lease defaults occur, we may experience delays in enforcing our rights as landlord. Leases representing approximately [____]% of our annualized based rent are scheduled to expire in 2025, and as of December 31, 2024, our 3 portfolio, including our pro rata share of properties owned by the Arch Street Joint Venture, had a weighted average lease term of [___] years, and had [__] vacant operating properties, with an aggregate [___] million square feet, including [__] properties, with an aggregate of [___] million square feet, that have remained vacant for over one year. If our tenants decide not to renew their leases, terminate their leases early or default on their leases, we will seek to re-lease the space to new tenants. We may not, however, be able to re-lease the space to suitable replacement tenants on a timely basis, or at all. Even if we are able to renew leases with existing tenants or enter into new leases with replacement tenants, the terms of renewals or new leases, including the cost of required renovations or concessions to tenants, may be less favorable to us than current lease terms. As a result, our net income and ability to pay dividends to stockholders could be materially adversely affected. Further, if any of our properties cannot be leased on terms and conditions favorable to us, we may seek to dispose of the property; however, such property may not be marketable at a suitable price without substantial capital improvements, alterations, or at all, which could inhibit our ability to effectively dispose of those properties and could require us to expend capital to fund necessary capital improvements or alterations. We have existing debt and refinancing risks . . . , page 12 3. We note that your Revolving Facility is scheduled to mature in November 2024, and your statement on page 12 and elsewhere that you do not expect to have generated sufficient cash from operations to repay the principal amount under the Revolving Facility, which was $116.0 million as of December 31, 2023, on its scheduled maturity date. We also note your statement that you are in preliminary discussions to potentially amend the facility in a manner that would result in an extension of the facility and a reduction in the amount of required unencumbered asset value. In future Exchange Act periodic reports, please update this risk factor to expand your disclosure to discuss the current covenant requirement, and your unencumbered asset value as of a recent date. Response: We acknowledge the Staff’s comment and note that we have updated this risk factor for inclusion in our Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2024. Among other things, we have incorporated your suggested changes to disclose the current unencumbered asset value covenant requirement and our actual unencumbered asset value as of a recent date (March 31, 2024). We also updated the risk factor to reflect the fact that on May 3, 2024, we entered into an amendment to the Revolving Facility pursuant to which, among other things, we and the lenders agreed to certain financial covenant changes, including a reduction in the minimum unencumbered asset value that we must maintain to $500 million, from $600 million. The risk factor that was included in our Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2024 is set forth below. “We have existing debt and refinancing risks that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including the risk that we will be unable to extend or refinance some or all of our debt. We have both fixed and variable rate indebtedness and may incur additional indebtedness in the future, including borrowings under our Revolving Facility. Our Revolving Facility 4 is scheduled to mature in November 2024, and we have the option to extend the maturity an additional 18 months until May 12, 2026. The extension option is subject to customary conditions, including there being no default or event of default, such as the failure to satisfy a financial or other covenant. Our ability to satisfy these conditions and continue to comply with the terms of the Revolving Facility is partially dependent upon us having a sufficient level of unencumbered asset value as defined in the credit agreement with respect to the Revolving Facility. As of March 31, 2024, our unencumbered asset value for this purpose was $773.4 million. On May 3, 2024, we entered into an amendment to the Revolving Facility. Under the terms of the amendment, we and the lenders agreed to reduce the borrowing capacity of the Revolving Facility to $350.0 million, from $425.0 million, and to certain financial covenant changes, including a proportional reduction in the minimum unencumbered asset value that we must maintain to $500.0 million, from $600.0 million. After giving effect to the amendment, our unencumbered asset value as of March 31, 2024 was $863.4 million, and we expect to be able to satisfy the loan extension conditions and therefore, intend to elect the option to extend the maturity date of the Revolving Facility until May 12, 2026. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to satisfy the extension conditions and continue to comply with the Revolving Facility. If we are unable to meet the conditions to extend and continue to comply with the Revolving Facility, we might be forced to sell assets to generate cash, which might be on unfavorable terms, if at all, or we might not be able to make all required payments of principal and interest on our debt, which could result in a default, result in our lenders foreclosing on our assets, or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. The non-recourse mortgage notes associated with the Arch Street Joint Venture of $136.7 million as of March 31, 2024 are also scheduled to mature in November 2024, and the Arch Street Joint Venture has two successive one-year options to extend the maturity until November 27, 2026. The extension options are subject to satisfaction of certain conditions, including satisfaction of certain financial and operating covenants. The Arch Street Joint Venture may be unable to satisfy the extension conditions, and is also evaluating alternatives to refinance this obligation. We cannot provide any assurance the Arch Street Joint Venture will be able to satisfy the extension conditions or otherwise extend or refinance the loan. If the Arch Street Joint Venture is unable to extend or refinance the mortgage notes, our investment in the Arch Street Joint Venture could be materially adversely affected. As a result of the indebtedness we incur, we are, and expect to be, subject to the risks normally associated with debt financing including: that we will be unable to extend, refinance or repay our debt as it becomes due or increase the availability of overall debt on terms as favorable as those of our existing debt, or at all; that interest rates may rise; that our cash flow could be insufficient to make required payments of principal and interest; 5 that required payments on mortgages and on our other debt are not reduced if the economic performance of any property declines; that debt service obligations will reduce funds available for distribution to our stockholders; that any default on our debt, due to noncompliance with financial covenants or otherwise, could result in acceleration of those obligations; and that if our degree of leverage is viewed unfavorably by lenders or potential joint venture partners, it could affect our ability to obtain additional financing. If we are unable to repay, extend or refinance our indebtedness as it becomes due, we may need to sell assets or to seek protection from our creditors under applicable law, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.” Item 2. Properties, page 25 4. We note your disclosure on page 4 that your portfolio is comprised of traditional office buildings, as well as governmental office, office/laboratory, office/research and office/flex properties. Please tell us, and in future filings, please revise, to add disclosure showing a percentage breakdown of your portfolio by office property types. Response: We acknowledge the Staff’s comment, and we intend to include the below chart providing a percentage breakdown of our portfolio by office property type in our Annual Report on Form 10-K going forward. We also have included this new chart within our quarterly Supplemental Financial Information, which is publicly available to investors and furnished to the Staff on Form 8-K, beginning with the quarter ended March 31, 2024. Square feet and dollars are presented in thousands. Property Type Number of Properties Rentable Square Feet Square Feet as a % of Total Portfolio Annualized Base Rent Annualized Base Rent as a % of Total Portfolio Traditional Office 52 6,844 77.1 % $ 95,609 72.0 % Governmental Office 16 789 8.9 % 19,852 14.9 % Medical Office 2 155 1.8 % 5,787 4.4 % Flex/Laboratory and R&D 4 267 3.0 % 3,752 2.8 % Flex/Industrial 7 819 9.2 % 7,794 5.9 % Total Portfolio 81 8,874 100.0 % $ 132,794 100.0 % 5. We note your statement on page 11 that you compete with a number of other owners and operators of office properties, and that you may lose tenants if your 6 properties are not as attractive to existing or new tenants as properties owned by your competitors “due to age of buildings, physical condition, lack of amenities or other similar factors.” For each property portfolio, please tell us, and in future filings, please disclose, the class of the office buildings in that portfolio. Please tell us, and in future filings, please clarify, if the class of buildings is impacting your ability to renew leases, or obtain new tenants, and the impact on leasing costs associated with renewing or re-letting a particular space. Response: We acknowledge the Staff’s comment, and we advise the Staff that as of March 31, 2024, 59.3%, 35.0% and 5.7% of our office buildings by square feet were classified as class A, class B and class C, respectively, as determined by the most recent appraisals of the properties. We also advise the Staff that while the class of our office buildings may at times be negatively impacting our leasing efforts and increasing our leasing costs, we do not have enough information to conclude as such with certainty, because tenants and prospective tenants do not share with us the reasons they have decided to vacate or not take space in our buildings. In response to your c