Our operations involve various risks that could adversely affect our business, including our financial condition, our results of operations, our cash flow, our liquidity, our ability to make distributions to holders of the Company's common stock and the Operating Partnership's Units, the market price of the Company's common stock and the market value of the Units. These risks, among others contained in our other filings with the SEC, include:

A significant amount of our existing indebtedness was issued through capital markets transactions. We anticipate that the capital markets could be a source of refinancing of our existing indebtedness in the future. This source of refinancing may not be available if volatility in or disruption of the capital markets occurs. From time to time, the capital and credit markets in the United States and other countries experience significant price volatility, dislocations and liquidity disruptions, which can cause the market prices of many securities and the spreads on prospective debt financings to fluctuate substantially. These circumstances can materially impact liquidity in the financial markets, making terms for certain financings less attractive, and in some cases result in the unavailability of financing. Furthermore, we could potentially lose access to available liquidity under our Unsecured Credit Facility if one or more participating lenders were to default on their commitments. If our ability to issue additional debt or equity securities or to borrow money under our Unsecured Credit Facility were to be impaired by volatility in or disruption of the capital markets, it could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and financial condition.

In addition, price volatility in the capital and credit markets could make the valuation of our properties more difficult. There may be significant uncertainty in the valuation, or in the stability of the value, of our properties that could result in a substantial decrease in the value of our properties. As a result, we may not be able to recover the carrying amount of our properties, which may require us to recognize an impairment loss in earnings.

The factors that affect the value of our real estate and the revenues we derive from our properties include, among other things:

Our investments in real estate assets are concentrated in the industrial sector, and the demand for industrial space in the United States is related to the level of economic output. Accordingly, reduced economic output may lead to lower occupancy rates for our properties. In addition, if any of our tenants experiences a downturn in its business that weakens its financial condition, delays lease commencement, fails to make rental payments when due, becomes insolvent or declares bankruptcy, the result could be a termination of the tenant’stenant's lease, which could adversely affect our cash flow from operations. These factors may be amplified by a disruption of financial markets or more general economic conditions.

We have routinely acquired properties from third parties as conditions warrant and, as part of our business, we intend to continue to do so. The acquisition of properties entails various risks, including risks that our investments may not perform as expected and that our cost estimates for bringing an acquired property up to market standards, if necessary, may prove inaccurate. Further, we face significant competition for attractive investment opportunities from other well-capitalized real estate investors, including publicly-traded REITs and private investors. This competition increases as investments in real estate become attractive relative to other forms of investment. As a result of competition, we may be unable to acquire additional properties and purchase prices may increase. In addition, we expect to finance future acquisitions through a combination of borrowings under the Unsecured Credit Facility, proceeds from equity or debt offerings and debt originations and proceeds from property sales, which may not be available. Any of the above risks could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and ability to make distributions to our stockholders and Unitholders,unitholders, the market price of the Company's common stock and the market value of the Units.

As part of our business, we develop new properties and re-develop existing properties as conditions warrant. This part of our business involves significant risks, including the following:

To the extent these risks result in increased debt service expense, construction costs and delays in budgeted leasing, they could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and ability to make distributions to our stockholders and Unitholders,unitholders, the market price of the Company's common stock and the market value of the Units.

The Company intends to operate so as to qualify as a REIT under the Code, and we believe that the Company is organized and will operate in a manner that allows us to continue to do so. However, qualification as a REIT involves the satisfaction of numerous requirements, some of which must be met on a recurring basis. These requirements are established under highly technical and complex Code provisions. There are only limited judicial and administrative interpretations of these provisions, and they involve the determination of various factual matters and circumstances not entirely within our control.

If the Company were to fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, the Company would be subject to federal income tax at corporate rates. This could result in a discontinuation or substantial reduction in distributions to our stockholders and Unitholders andunitholders, could reduce the cash available to pay interest and principal on debt securities that we issue.and make further investments in real estate. Unless entitled to relief under certain statutory provisions, the Company would be disqualified from electing treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which the Company failed to qualify. Additionally, since the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS"),

The IRS, the United States Treasury Department and Congress frequently review federal income tax legislation, we cannot predict whether, when or to what extent new federal laws, regulations, interpretations or rulings will be adopted. Any such legislative action may prospectively or retroactively modify the Company's tax treatment and therefore, may adversely affect taxation of us and/or our stockholders and Unitholders.

As part of our business, we sell properties to third parties as opportunities arise. Under the Code, a 100% penalty tax could be assessed on the tax gain recognized from sales of properties that are deemed to be prohibited transactions. The question of what constitutes a prohibited transaction is based on the facts and circumstances surrounding each transaction. The IRS could contend that certain sales of properties by us are prohibited transactions. While we have implemented controls to avoid prohibited transactions, if a dispute were to arise that was successfully argued by the IRS, the 100% penalty tax could be assessed against the Company's profits from these transactions.

As a REIT, the Company must distribute to its stockholders at least 90% of its taxable income (determined without regard to the dividends-paid deduction and by excluding any net capital gain) to our stockholders each year.year and we may be subject to tax to the extent our taxable income is not fully distributed. The Company could, in certain instances, have taxable income without sufficient cash to enable it to meet this requirement. In that situation, we could be required to borrow funds or sell properties on adverse terms in order to do so. The distribution requirement could also limit our ability to accumulate capital to provide capital resources for our ongoing business, and to satisfy our debt repayment obligations and other liquidity needs, we may be more dependent on outside sources of financing, such as debt financing or issuances of additional capital stock, which may or may not be available on favorable terms. Additional debt financings may substantially increase our leverage and additional equity offerings may result in substantial dilution of stockholders’stockholders' and Unitholders'unitholders' interests.

Upon the occurrence of an event of default, we would be subject to higher finance costs and fees, and the lenders under our Unsecured Credit Facility will not be required to lend any additional amounts to us. In addition, our indebtedness, together with accrued and unpaid interest and fees, could be accelerated and declared to be immediately due and payable. Furthermore, our Unsecured Credit Facility, our unsecured term loans and the indentures governing our senior unsecured notes contain certain cross-default provisions that may be triggered in the event that our other material indebtedness is in default. These cross-default provisions may require us to repay or restructure our Unsecured Credit Facility, our unsecured term loans or our senior unsecured notes (which includes our private placement notes), depending on which is in default, and such restructuring could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and ability to make distributions to our stockholders and Unitholders,unitholders, the market price of the Company's common stock and the market value of the Units. If repayment of any of our indebtedness is accelerated, we cannot provide assurance that we would be able to borrow sufficient funds to refinance such indebtedness or that we would be able to sell sufficient assets to repay such indebtedness. Even if we were able to obtain new financing, it may not be on commercially reasonable terms, or terms that are acceptable to us.

We are required to make lump-sum or "balloon" payments under the terms of some of our indebtedness. Our ability to make required payments of principal on outstanding indebtedness, whether at maturity or otherwise, may depend on our ability to refinance the applicable indebtedness or to sell properties. Currently, we have no commitments to refinance any of our indebtedness.

Certain of our mortgages contain, and some future mortgages may contain, substantial prepayment premiums that we would have to pay upon the sale of a property, thereby reducing the net proceeds to us from the sale of any such property. As a result, our willingness to sell certain properties and the price at which we may desire to sell a property may be impacted. If we are unable to sell properties on favorable terms or redeploy the proceeds of property sales in accordance with our business strategy, then our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and ability to make distributions to our stockholders and Unitholders,unitholders, the market price of the Company's common stock and the market value of the Units could be adversely affected.

We regularly review our real estate assets for impairment indicators, such as a decline in a property’sproperty's occupancy rate, decline in general market conditions or a change in the expected hold period of an asset. If we determine that indicators of impairment are present, we review the properties affected by these indicators to determine whether an impairment charge is required. As a result, we may be required to recognize asset impairment, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. We use considerable judgment in making determinations about impairments, from analyzing whether there are indicators of impairment, to the assumptions used in calculating the fair value of the investment. Accordingly, our subjective estimates and evaluations may not be accurate, and such estimates and evaluations are subject to change or revision.

The market value of the Company's common stock is based in large part upon the market’smarket's perception of the growth potential of the Company's earnings and cash dividends. The market value of the Company's common stock is also based upon the value of the Company's underlying real estate assets. For this reason, shares of the Company's common stock may trade at prices that are higher or lower than the Company's net asset value per share. To the extent that the Company retains operating cash flow for investment purposes, working capital reserves, or other purposes, these retained funds, while increasing the value of the Company's underlying assets, may not correspondingly increase the market price of the Company's common stock. The Company's failure to meet the market’smarket's expectations with regard to future earnings and the payment of cash dividends/distributions likely would adversely affect the market price of the Company's common stock. Further, the distribution yield on the common stock (as a percentage of the price of the common stock) relative to market interest rates may also influence the market price of the Company's common stock. An increase in market interest rates might lead prospective purchasers of the Company's common stock to expect a higher distribution yield, which would adversely affect the market price of the Company's common stock. Any reduction in the market price of the Company's common stock would, in turn, reduce the market value of the Units.

Under various federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations, we may, as ana current or previous owner, developer or operator of real estate, be liable for the costs of clean-up of certain conditions relating to the presence of hazardous or toxic materials on, in or emanating from a property and any related damages to natural resources. Environmental laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of hazardous or toxic materials. The presence of such materials, or the failure to address those conditions properly, may adversely affect our ability to rent or sell a property or to borrow using a property as collateral. The disposal or treatment of hazardous or toxic materials, or the arrangement of such disposal or treatment, may cause us to be liable for the costs of clean-up of such materials or for related natural resource damages occurring at or emanating from an off-site disposal or treatment facility, whether or not the facility is owned or operated by us. No assurance can be given that existing environmental assessments with respect to any of our properties reveal all environmental liabilities, that any prior owner or operator of any of our properties did not create any material environmental condition not known to us or that a material environmental condition does not otherwise exist as to any of our properties. Moreover, there can be no assurance that (i) changes to existing laws, ordinances or regulations to address, among other things, climate change, will not impose any material environmental liability or (ii) the current environmental condition of our properties will not be affected by customers, by the condition of land or operations in the vicinity of our properties (such as releases from underground storage tanks), or by third-partiesthird parties unrelated to us.

All of our properties were subject to a Phase I or similar environmental assessment by independent environmental consultants at the time of acquisition. Phase I assessments are intended to discover and evaluate information regarding the environmental condition of the surveyed property and surrounding properties. Phase I assessments generally include a historical review, a public records review, an investigation of the surveyed site and surrounding properties, and preparation and issuance of a written report, but do not include soil sampling or subsurface investigations and typically do not include an asbestos survey. While some of these assessments have led to further investigation and sampling, none of our environmental assessments of our properties have revealed an environmental liability that we believe would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations taken as a whole. However, we cannot give any assurance that such conditions do not exist or may not arise in the future. Material environmental conditions, liabilities or compliance concerns may arise after the environmental assessment has been completed.

Environmental laws in the U.S. also require that owners or operators of buildings containing asbestos properly manage and maintain the asbestos, adequately inform or train those who may come into contact with asbestos and undertake special precautions, including removal or other abatement, in the event that asbestos is disturbed during building renovation or demolition. These laws may impose fines and penalties on building owners or operators who fail to comply with these requirements and may allow third-partiesthird parties to seek recovery from owners or operators for personal injury associated with exposure to asbestos. Some of our properties may contain asbestos-containing building materials.

We invest in properties historically used for industrial, manufacturing and commercial purposes. Some of these properties contain, or may have contained, underground storage tanks for the storage of petroleum products and other hazardous or toxic substances. All of these operations create a potential for the release of petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances. Some of our properties are adjacent to or near other properties that may have contained or currently contain underground storage tanks used to store petroleum products, or other hazardous or toxic substances. In addition, previous or current occupants of our properties and adjacent properties may have engaged, or may in the future engage, in activities that may release petroleum products or other hazardous or toxic substances.

We have a portfolio environmental insurance policy that provides coverage for potential environmental liabilities, subject to the policy’spolicy's coverage conditions and limitations, for most of our properties. From time to time, we may acquire properties or interests in properties, with known adverse environmental conditions where we believe that the environmental liabilities associated with these conditions are quantifiable and that the acquisition will yield a superior risk-adjusted return. In such an instance, we underwrite the costs of environmental investigation, clean-up and monitoring into the cost. Further, in connection with property dispositions, we may agree to remain responsible for, and to bear the cost of, remediating or monitoring certain environmental conditions on the properties.

In addition, under the ADA, all places of public accommodation are required to meet certain U.S. federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. Noncompliance with the ADA could result in an order to correct any non-complying feature, which could result in substantial capital expenditures. We do not conduct audits or investigations of all of these properties to determine their compliance and we cannot predict the ultimate cost of compliance with the ADA, or other legislation. If one or more of our properties in which we invest is not in compliance with the ADA, or other legislation, then we would be required to incur additional costs to bring the property into compliance. If we incur substantial costs to comply with the ADA or other legislation, our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow, our ability to satisfy debt service obligations and to make distributions to our stockholders and Unitholders,unitholders, the market price of the Company's common stock and the market value of the Units could be adversely affected.

The credit ratings of our senior unsecured notes are based on our operating performance, liquidity and leverage ratios, overall financial position and other factors employed by the credit rating agencies in their rating analyses. Our credit ratings can affect the availability, terms and pricing of any indebtedness we may incur or preferred stock that we might issue going forward. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain any credit rating and, in the event any credit rating is downgraded, we could incur higher borrowing costs or may be unable to access certain or any capital markets.

The design and effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting may not prevent all errors, misstatements or misrepresentations. While management will continue to review the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, there can be no guarantee that our internal control over financial reporting will be effective in accomplishing all control objectives all of the time. Deficiencies, including any material weakness, in our internal control over financial reporting which may occur could result in misstatements of our results of operations, restatements of our financial statements, a decline in the price/value of our securities, or otherwise materially adversely affect our business, reputation, results of operations, financial condition or liquidity.

The occurrence of one or more of the events described above could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, cash flow and ability to make distributions to our stockholders and Unitholders,unitholders, the market price of the Company's common stock and the market value of the Units.

At December 31, 2017,2019, we owned 484433 in-service industrial properties containing an aggregate of approximately 59.360.2 million square feet of GLA in 21 states, with a diverse base of approximately 1,350more than 1,050 tenants engaged in a wide variety of businesses, including manufacturing, retail,distribution, wholesale trade, distributionprofessional services, manufacturing and professional services.retail. The average annual base rent per square foot on afor our in-service portfolio, basis, calculated at December 31, 2017,2019, was $5.08.$5.43. The properties are generally located in business parks that have convenient access to interstate highways and/or rail and air transportation. We maintain insurance on our properties that we believe is adequate.

We classify our properties into four industrial categories: bulk warehouse, regional warehouse, light industrial and R&D/flex. While some properties may have characteristics which fall under more than one property type, we use what we believe is the most dominant characteristic to categorize the property. Individual properties may be reclassified over time due to changes in building characteristics such as tenant use and office space build-out.