Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A)
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INFORMATION
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Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders
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DATE Tuesday, |
TIME Central Time |
LOCATION Suite 300 |
RECORD DATE |
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Items of Business |
Board Recommendation |
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| 1 | To elect two Class III directors |
FOR each nominee |
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| 2 | To approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers | FOR | ||||||||||||
| 3 | To approve, on an advisory basis, the frequency of future advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers | 1 YEAR | ||||||||||||
| 4 | To ratify, on an advisory basis, the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm | FOR | ||||||||||||
Notice is hereby given that the 2025 annual meeting of stockholders (including any adjournment or postponement thereof, the "2025 Annual Meeting") of
YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT.To assure that your shares are represented at the 2025 Annual Meeting, please promptly mark, sign, date and retuthe enclosed proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided, or vote by telephone or the Internet as instructed on the proxy card, whether or not you plan to attend the 2025 Annual Meeting. Please refer to "Information About the 2025 Annual Meeting" on page 53 of the attached proxy statement and the instructions on the proxy card. The Notice of 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and Proxy Statement are first being made available to stockholders on or about
Thank you for your continued support of our Company.
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By Order of the Board of Directors. |
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General Counsel & Secretary |
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IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE
ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON
The proxy statement for the 2025 Annual Meeting and the Company's 2024 annual report to stockholders
are available free of charge at: www.edocumentview.com/STRS.
If you have any questions or require any assistance with voting your shares, please contact our proxy solicitor:
Stockholders may call toll-free: (877) 687-1871
Banks and Brokers may call collect: (212) 750-5833
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Proxy Statement
This proxy statement (this "Proxy Statement") is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the Board of Directors (the "Board" or the "Board of Directors") of
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We include website addresses throughout this Proxy Statement for reference only. The information contained or referenced on our website and other websites mentioned in this Proxy Statement are not a part of this Proxy Statement and are not deemed incorporated by reference into this Proxy Statement or any other public filing made with the
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Suite 300
Proxy Summary
This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this Proxy Statement. This summary does not contain all of the information that you should consider, and you should read the entire Proxy Statement carefully before voting. For more information regarding our 2024 performance, please review our 2024 annual report.
2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
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| Time: | ||
| Place: |
Suite 300 |
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| Record Date: | ||
| Voting: | Stockholders at the close of business on the record date will be entitled to vote at the 2025 Annual Meeting. As of the record date for the 2025 Annual Meeting, 8,072,897 shares of the Company's common stock, par value |
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Agenda and Voting Recommendations
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Item |
Description |
Board Vote Recommendation |
Page | |||
| 1 | Election of two Class III directors | FOR each nominee | 19 | |||
| 2 | Advisory vote to approve the compensation of our named executive officers | FOR | 47 | |||
| 3 | Advisory vote to approve the frequency of future advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers | 1 YEAR | 48 | |||
| 4 | Ratification of the appointment of |
FOR | 51 | |||
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Director Nominees
Our Board is currently comprised of seven directors, who are divided into three director classes.
You are being asked to elect two Class III directors to serve on the Board until the 2028 annual meeting of stockholders, until their respective successors are duly elected and qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal. For more information about the background and qualifications of the director nominees and the entire Board, please see "Proposal No. 1: Election of Directors" on page 19 of this Proxy Statement and "Information About Nominees and Continuing Directors" on page 21 of this Proxy Statement. The Board's nominees for Class III directors are:
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Age | Director Since |
Principal Occupation |
Independent |
Board Committees |
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| William H. Armstrong III | 60 | 1998 |
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of |
No | None | |||||||||||||||
| 51 | 2021 |
Co-ChiefInvestment |
Yes |
Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair); Compensation |
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Board Composition Highlights
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Board Skills, Experience and Background
The following tables illustrate the diverse mix of skills, experiences and backgrounds that qualify our directors for service on our Board and that contribute to our ability to create value for our stockholders. The table below is intended to highlight each director's particular strengths, and an individual director may have other skills, experiences and personal attributes not highlighted in the table. Additional information about each director can be found under the heading "Information About Nominees and Continuing Directors" on page 21 of this Proxy Statement.
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Skills and Experience |
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CEO / Executive Management Experience |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 6 out of 7 | |||||||||||
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Real Estate Industry Experience |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 5 out of 7 | ||||||||||||
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Other Public Company Board Experience |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 3 out of 7 | ||||||||||||||
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Risk Management / Strategic Planning Experience |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 7 out of 7 | ||||||||||
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Public and Private Investment Experience |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 4 out of 7 | |||||||||||||
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Banking / Finance Experience |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 6 out of 7 | |||||||||||
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Accounting and Financial Reporting Experience |
✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | 7 out of 7 | ||||||||||
| Background* | Average | |||||||||||||||||
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Tenure (Years) |
3 | 4 | 9 | 32 | 13 | 4 | 26 | 13.0 | ||||||||||
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64 | 51 | 64 | 76 | 73 | 54 | 60 | 63.1 | ||||||||||
| * |
As of the record date, |
We are committed to having a Board that is inclusive of a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Since 2020, we have added three independent directors to our Board:
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Governance Highlights
We are committed to strong and effective governance practices that are responsive to our stockholders. Our commitment to good corporate governance, including best practices that are part of our executive compensation program, is illustrated by the following practices:
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Board Independence and Composition ✓ Regular review of Board composition and commitment to Board refreshment, including the addition of 3 independent directorsto the Board since 2020 ✓ Strong Board independence: 6 out of 7 directors are independent ✓ 100% independentaudit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees ✓ Refreshed Board committee composition and leadershipover the last 4 years ✓ Lead independent directorwith strong and clear responsibilities ✓ Race/ethnic and gender diversityamong our directors and executive officers ✓ Balance of tenure among directors, with 3 out of 7 directors with tenures of 5 years or less and 2 with tenures between 5 and 15 years ✓ 2 out of 7 directors age 55 years or less, 3 between 56 and 65 and 2 age 66 and above, with an average age of our independent directorsof approximately 63.7 years |
Key Responsibilities, Policies and Guidelines ✓ Robust corporate governance guidelines ✓ Ethics and business conduct policy applies to all directors, officers, employees and affiliated and unaffiliated service providers with annual certification process ✓ Overboarding policy ✓ Nominating and corporate governance committeeoversight of sustainability matters ✓ Compensation committee oversight of culture and human capital management ✓ Audit committee oversight of cybersecurity ✓ Audit committee oversight of corporate political contributions and expenditures ✓ Stock ownership guidelinesfor executive officers and non-employeedirectors ✓ No Board meeting attendance feesfor directors |
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Board Performance and Stockholder Rights ✓ Annual performance evaluationof the Board and its committees overseen by the nominating and corporate governance committee ✓ Over 92% attendance at Board and Board committee meetingsby all directors during 2024 ✓ Independent directors regularly meet in executive sessions without management present ✓ Redeemed stockholder rights agreement in response to 2021 stockholder vote ✓ One share, one votestandard |
Executive Compensation ✓ New annual incentive planeffective in 2023, with awards primarily based on objective, pre-establishedannual performance goals ✓ Long-term incentive awards tied to profitabilityof our development projects and company performance ✓ Clawback policies applicable to incentive-based awards ✓ Anti-pledging and anti-hedging policiesapplicable to our executive officers ✓ "Double trigger" cash payments and equity acceleration after a change of control ✓ Independent compensation consultantengaged from time to time in the sole discretion of the compensation committee of the Board ✓ No excise tax gross-ups ✓ No retirement benefits that are not available to employees generally ✓ No excessive perquisites |
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Stockholder Engagement ✓ Engaged in dialogue with stockholders and stockholders' representatives, including a stockholder representing 7.7% of our outstanding Common Stock who has a director designee on our Board |
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Corporate Responsibility Highlights
As a real estate development company centered in
With the guidance of our nominating and corporate governance committee, we maintain a corporate responsibility section on our website in order to share more information about our corporate responsibility and sustainability history and achievements as we continue to strive to be a leader in sustainable real estate development. Please visit our website at stratusproperties.com/esg/corporate _responsibility/for more information.
We emphasize sustainable design, construction, and operations as essential company goals in developing and operating our properties.
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• Holden Hills Phase 1, our last residential development in |
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• The |
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• Block 21, sold in 2022, received the |
People
We value innovation, integrity and initiative. We are committed to supporting inclusion in the workplace and encouraging the health and well-being of our employees.
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• As of • Women represent 80% of our executive and senior management positions, and 43% of our directors are gender or ethnically diverse • We provide our employees with a robust benefits program |
Policies
We adopted policies, available on our website, to capture our expectations regarding key areas of corporate responsibility.
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• Environmental Policy • Vendor Code of Conduct • Labor and Human Rights Policy |
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Performance Highlights
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Financial |
Consolidated cash and cash equivalents totaled |
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During 2024, acquired 62,686 shares of our common stock for approximately |
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Completed the sales of approximately 47 acres at |
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Refinanced or amended the |
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Negotiated extensions of the maturitiesof our |
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Sold five |
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Portfolio |
Completed lease-upof The Saint June, our 182-unitluxury garden-style multi-family project within the |
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Continued construction on The Saint George, our 316-unitluxury wrap-style, multi-family project in north-central |
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Continued to operate our four stabilized retail projects, each of which continued to perform well during 2024: |
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Continued road and utility infrastructure construction on Holden Hills Phase 1, our final large residential development within the |
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Advanced and managed our development portfolio, including adjusting our development plans to achieve potential benefits available to Holden Hills Phases 1 and 2 from |
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Corporate Governance
Corporate Governance Framework
We are committed to strong and effective governance practices that are responsive to our stockholders. Our corporate governance guidelines, along with our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended (our "Charter"), our amended and restated by-laws(our "By-Laws")and the charters of the standing committees of our Board, provide the framework for the governance of the Company and reflect the Board's commitment to monitor the effectiveness of policy and decision making at both the Board and management levels. Our Charter, By-Laws,committee charters and corporate governance guidelines are available atstratusproperties.comunder Investors-Corporate Governance. In addition, our Ethics and Business Conduct Policy is available at stratusproperties.comunder Investors-Ethics and Business Conduct. Amendments to or waivers of our Ethics and Business Conduct Policy granted to any of our directors or executive officers will be published promptly on our website.
Board Composition, Independence and Leadership Structure
Our Board has primary responsibility for overseeing the management of our business and affairs. As of the date of this Proxy Statement, our Board consists of seven members, six of whom have been determined by our Board to be independent. On the basis of information solicited from each director, and upon the advice and recommendation of the nominating and corporate governance committee, our Board has affirmatively determined that none of Mses. Dotter and Henriksen and Messrs. Joseph, Madden, Porter and Rhone has any relationship that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and each is independent as defined in the director independence standards of NASDAQ, as currently in effect. In making these determinations, our Board, with assistance from the Company's legal counsel, evaluated responses to a questionnaire completed annually by each director regarding relationships and possible conflicts of interest between each director, the Company and management. In its review of director independence, our Board and legal counsel considered all commercial, industrial, banking, consulting, legal, accounting, charitable and familial relationships any director may have with the Company or management, including the relationships described in "Designated Director" on page 9 of this Proxy Statement and in "Certain Transactions" on page 51 of this Proxy Statement.
Our Board understands there is no single approach to providing board leadership and does not have a fixed policy regarding the separation of the roles of chief executive officer and chairman of our Board. Our Board believes that
Our Board recognizes the importance of having a strong independent board leadership structure to ensure accountability and to facilitate the effective performance of the Board in its role of providing effective oversight of management. In 2013, our Board established the position of lead independent director. The role of our lead independent director is described in our corporate governance guidelines. On
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term as lead independent director, which expires on
Designated Director
Pursuant to an Investor Rights Agreement with
Director Attendance and Meetings
Our Board held a total of eight meetings during 2024. During 2024, each director attended over 92% of the aggregate of the total number of meetings of the Board and all committees of the Board on which he or she served during the periods of his or her Board membership and committee service. Directors are invited but not required to attend annual meetings of our stockholders.
Board Committees
To provide for effective direction and management of our business, our Board has established three standing committees: the audit committee, the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee. Each committee is composed entirely of independent directors.
During 2021 we refreshed the composition and size of our three standing committees and rotated all chair positions.
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Audit Committee |
Compensation Committee |
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee |
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William H. Armstrong III (CEO) |
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✓ | Chair | ||||
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(Lead Independent Director) |
Chair | ✓ | ||||
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✓ | ✓ | ||||
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Chair | ✓ | ||||
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Each committee operates under a written charter adopted by our Board. All of the committee charters are available on our website at stratusproperties.comunder Investors-Corporate Governance. The following charts summarize the primary responsibilities of each of the committees.
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AUDIT COMMITTEE Members: • All members are independent as defined in the director independence standards of NASDAQ. • Each member also meets the additional independence criteria set forth the applicable NASDAQ listing standards and • Our Board has determined that each of Meetings in 2024:4 |
Primarily Responsibilities: • Assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities relating to: • the Company's accounting and financial reporting processes; • the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting; • the integrity of the Company's financial statements; • audits of the Company's financial statements; • the Company's compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; • the qualifications, independence and performance of the Company's independent registered public accounting firm; • the performance of the Company's internal audit firm; • the review and approval or ratification of any transaction that would require disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-Kof the rules and regulations of the • the adequacy and effectiveness of the Company's information and technology security policies and the internal controls regarding information and technology security and cybersecurity risks. Committee Report: Page 49 |
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COMPENSATION COMMITTEE Members: • All members are independent as defined in the director independence standards of NASDAQ. • Each member also meets the additional independence criteria set forth the applicable NASDAQ listing standards and Meetings in 2024:4 |
Primarily Responsibilities: • Assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities by: • discharging the Board's responsibilities relating to compensation of the Company's executive officers; • administering the Company's cash-based and equity-based incentive compensation plans; • overseeing the form and amount of director compensation; • reviewing the succession plans relating to senior executive officer positions and making recommendations to the Board with respect to succession planning; and • overseeing the Company's policies and strategies relating to culture and human capital management. Committee Report: Page 39 Please refer to "Compensation Committee Procedures" on page 11 of this Proxy Statement for more information. |
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NOMINATING AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE Members: • All members are independent as defined in the director independence standards of NASDAQ. Meetings in 2024:2 |
Primarily Responsibilities: • Assists the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities by: • identifying, considering and recommending to the Board candidates to be nominated for election or re-electionto the Board at each annual meeting of stockholders or as necessary to fill vacancies and newly-created directorships; • monitoring the composition of the Board and its committees and making recommendations to the Board on membership of the committees and on the types and sizes of the Board committees; • overseeing the Company's corporate governance practices and procedures including maintaining the Company's corporate governance guidelines and recommending to the Board any desirable changes; • reviewing and making recommendations to the Board with respect to stockholder proposals, as necessary; • evaluating the effectiveness of the Board and its committees; and • reviewing the Company's sustainability strategy, initiatives and practices, including any related policies. |
Compensation Committee Procedures
The compensation committee has the sole authority to set annual compensation amounts and annual incentive program criteria for our executive officers, evaluate the performance of our executive officers, and make awards to our executive officers under our cash-based and equity-based incentive programs. The compensation committee also reviews, approves and recommends to our Board any proposed plan or arrangement providing for incentive, retirement or other compensation to our executive officers, as well as any proposed contract under which compensation is awarded to one of our executive officers.
The compensation committee also has oversight of director compensation, including the authority to grant cash-based and equity-based awards. The compensation committee reviews the form and amount of all director compensation, including cash, equity-based awards and other forms of director compensation, paid to our non-employeedirectors under our director compensation program.
The compensation committee oversees our assessment of whether our compensation policies and practices are likely to expose the Company to material risks. The compensation committee may form subcommittees and delegate responsibilities and authority to such subcommittees in its sole discretion, to the extent consistent with the compensation committee's charter, our Charter or By-Laws,and applicable law.
If equity awards are granted in a given year, in accordance with the compensation committee's written policies, such awards are generally granted at a compensation committee meeting in the first fiscal quarter of the year. To the extent the compensation committee approves any special awards at other times during the year, such awards will be made during an open window period when our executive officers and directors are permitted to trade in our securities.
The terms of our stock incentive plans permit the compensation committee to delegate to one or more officers of the Company its authority to make awards to employees other than those subject to
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Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). The compensation committee has delegated authority to the chairman of our Board to grant or modify awards to such employees, subject to the following conditions:
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no individual grant may relate to more than 3,000 shares of our Common Stock; |
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such grants must be made during an open window period and must be approved in writing, the grant date being the date of such written approval; |
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the exercise price of any options granted may not be less than the fair market value of our Common Stock on the grant date; and |
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the officer must report any such grants to the compensation committee at its next meeting. |
The compensation committee engages an independent compensation consultant from time to time to advise it on matters related to both executive and director compensation. Please refer to the section titled "Executive Officer Compensation-Compensation Discussion and Analysis" on page 27 of this Proxy Statement for more information related to the independent compensation consultant.
Succession Planning for Senior Executives
The compensation committee periodically reviews the Company's successions plans relating to senior executive officer positions and makes recommendations to the Board with respect to succession planning. This process includes issues associated with preparedness for the possibility of an unexpected or emergency situation involving senior management and the long-term growth and development of the senior management team.
Board Evaluation Process
The nominating and corporate governance committee is responsible for overseeing the annual performance evaluation of our Board and its committees, which is a multi-step process designed to evaluate the performance of our Board and each of its committees, as follows:
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STEP 1: Confidential Evaluations |
Annually, each director completes an evaluation of the full Board and each of its committees. The evaluation is intended to provide each director with an opportunity to evaluate performance for the purpose of improving Board and committee processes and effectiveness. The detailed evaluation questionnaire seeks quantitative ratings and qualitative comments in key areas of Board practice, and asks each director to evaluate how well our Board and its committees operate and to make suggestions for improvements. These key areas include assessment of Board composition and director participation, meeting procedures, materials and format, allocation and delegation of responsibilities among our Board and its committees and adequacy and availability of resources. |
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STEP 2: Board Summary |
The nominating and corporate governance committee reviews the results and presents its assessment of Board performance, including of the committees, to the full |
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STEP 3: Recommendations Implemented |
Based on the results and recommendations presented by the nominating and corporate governance committee, |
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Board's Role in Oversight of Risk Management
Our Board as a whole is responsible for risk oversight, with reviews of certain areas being conducted by the relevant Board committees that report to the full Board. The chart below provides an overview of the areas overseen by each committee.
Audit Committee
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Reviews and discusses with management, the internal audit firm and our independent registered public accounting firm any guidelines and policies relating to risk assessment and risk management, and the steps management has taken to monitor, control and minimize the Company's major financial risk exposures, if any |
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Discusses with the internal audit firm and our independent registered public accounting firm the results of their processes to assess risk in the context of their respective audit engagements |
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Meets periodically in executive session with the internal audit firm and our independent registered public accounting firm |
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Monitors the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting and legal and regulatory compliance, as well as information and technological security and cybersecurity risks |
Compensation Committee
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Oversees the Company's assessment of whether its compensation policies and practices are likely to expose the Company to material risks |
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Oversees, in consultation with management, the Company's compliance with regulations governing executive and director compensation |
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
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Oversees management of risks associated with our Board leadership structure, corporate governance matters, and sustainability strategy, initiatives and practices |
In its risk oversight role, our Board reviews, evaluates and discusses with appropriate members of management whether the risk management processes designed and implemented by management are adequate in identifying, assessing, managing and mitigating material risks facing the Company, including financial and operational risks. Our Board believes that full and open communication between senior management and our Board is essential to effective risk oversight. Our lead independent director regularly meets with our chairman, president and chief executive officer to discuss a variety of matters, including business strategies, opportunities, key challenges and risks facing the Company, as well as management's risk mitigation strategies. Senior management attends all regularly scheduled Board meetings where they make presentations to our Board on various strategic matters involving our operations and are available to address any questions or concerns raised by our Board on risk management or any other matters. Our Board oversees the strategic direction of the Company, and in doing so considers the potential rewards and risks of the Company's business opportunities and challenges, and monitors the development and management of risks that impact our strategic goals.
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Director Category
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Limit on Public Company Board and
Committee
Service, Including Stratus
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| All directors | 4 boards | |
| Directors who serve on our audit committee | 3 audit committees | |
directors and our executive officers. The guidelines are administered by the compensation committee. The guidelines for our
directors and executive officers are as follows:
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Position
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Aggregate Value
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Non-employee
Director |
3x annual retainer, currently |
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CEO
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3x base salary | |
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CFO
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1x base salary | |
basis after reviewing the nature of the specific trust involved and considering whether the executive or director has maintained a pecuniary interest in the shares.
directors have five years from their initial appointment to achieve their target ownership level. Compliance with the guidelines is reported to the compensation committee as of
directors exceeded the applicable target stock ownership levels.
for the year ended
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✓
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personal and professional integrity |
✓
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educational and professional background | |||
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independence |
✓
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risk management and strategic planning experience | |||
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✓
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general understanding of the industry in which the Company operates |
✓
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public and private investment experience | |||
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✓
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executive management and public company board experience |
✓
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broad range of diversity | |||
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✓
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banking, corporate finance, accounting, and financial reporting experience |
✓
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ability and willingness to work cooperatively with other members of the Board and with senior management of the Company | |||
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✓
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other experiences relevant to the successful oversight of the management of a publicly-traded company |
✓
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ability and willingness to devote adequate time to duties of the Board | |||
the nominating and corporate governance committee will also consider the director's past attendance at meetings and participation in and contributions to the activities of the Board. Candidates may come to the nominating and corporate governance committee's attention through professional search firms, directors,
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stockholders, financial advisors, legal advisors or other persons. The nominating and corporate governance committee evaluates candidates proposed for nomination by the Company's stockholders using the same criteria by which it evaluates other nominees.
Board and Board Committee Refreshment
Three independent directors have joined our seven-member Board since 2020:
Stockholder Nominations
The nominating and corporate governance committee will consider candidates proposed for nomination by our stockholders. Stockholders may propose candidates for consideration by the nominating and corporate governance committee by submitting the names and supporting information to our Corporate Secretary,
In addition, our By-Lawspermit stockholders to nominate candidates directly for consideration at next year's annual meeting of stockholders. Any nomination must be in writing and received by our corporate secretary at our principal executive offices no later than the close of business on
In addition to satisfying the foregoing requirements under our By-Laws,including the notice deadline set forth above, to comply with the universal proxy rules, stockholders who intend to solicit proxies in support of director nominees other than our nominees must comply with the additional requirements of Rule 14a-19(b)under the Exchange Act.
Stockholder Engagement
We engage in discussions with our stockholders and stockholders' representatives throughout the year. Participants in our various engagements typically include our chairman, president and chief
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executive officer and our lead independent director. Our board and management have a history of engaging with stockholders and incorporating feedback into their decision-making processes.
Stockholders or other interested parties may communicate directly with one or more members of our Board, or the non-employeedirectors as a group, by writing to the director or directors at the following address:
Director Compensation
We use a combination of cash and equity-based compensation to compensate our non-employeedirectors. As an employee,
The compensation committee reviews the form and amount of director compensation and makes recommendations to the full Board. In 2023, our director compensation program was revised upon the recommendation of the Board's independent compensation consultant,
2024 Cash Compensation
During 2024, each non-employeedirector serving the duration of the year received an annual fee consisting of, as applicable:
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In addition, each director received reimbursement for reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred in attending Board and committee meetings. Directors do not receive meeting attendance fees.
The Company's non-employeedirectors may also elect to have all or part of their annual retainer paid in shares of our Common Stock, in lieu of cash, in accordance with certain guidelines and procedures.
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2024 Equity-Based Compensation
On
2024 Director Compensation
The following table summarizes the total compensation paid to or earned by our non-employeedirectors during 2024. The amount included in the "Stock Awards" column reflects the aggregate grant date fair value of the RSUs and does not necessarily equate to the income that will ultimately be realized by the director for these stock awards.
Director Compensation
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Name of Director |
Fees Earned or Paid in Cash |
Stock Awards (1) |
Total | ||||||||||||
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Laurie L. Dotter |
$ | 48,500 | (2) | $ | 65,008 | ||||||||||
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Kate |
51,000 | 65,008 | 116,008 | ||||||||||||
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James |
77,500 | 65,008 | 142,508 | ||||||||||||
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Michael |
48,500 | 65,008 | 113,508 | ||||||||||||
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Charles |
35,000 | 65,008 | 100,008 | ||||||||||||
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Neville L. Rhone, Jr. |
57,500 | 65,008 | 122,508 | ||||||||||||
| (1) |
Pursuant to our director equity-based compensation program, on |
| (2) |
|
18
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Proposal No. 1: Election of Directors
Our board currently consists of seven members. Our Charter currently provides that directors are divided into three director classes to be as nearly equal in number as possible and elected for three-year terms. Accordingly, approximately one-thirdof the Board is elected at each annual meeting of stockholders. Each director holds office until that director's successor is duly elected and qualified, or until his or her earlier death, resignation, removal or retirement. In accordance with our By-Laws,our Board has fixed the current number of directors at seven. Our directors are currently classified into the following three classes:
| • |
Class I directors are |
| • |
Class II directors are |
| • |
Class III directors are William H. Armstrong III and |
For more information about the background and qualifications of the director nominees and the entire Board of Directors, please see below and "Information About Nominees and Continuing Directors" on page 21 of this Proxy Statement.
|
|
Age | Director Since |
Principal Occupation |
Independent |
Board Committees |
|||||
|
William H. Armstrong III |
60 | 1998 | Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of |
No | None | |||||
|
Laurie L. Dotter |
64 | 2021 | Retired President of Transwestern |
Yes | Audit Compensation | |||||
|
Kate B. Henriksen |
51 | 2021 | Co-ChiefInvestment Officer of RLJ Lodging Trust |
Yes |
Compensation Nominating and Corporate Governance* |
|||||
|
James E. Joseph |
64 | 2015 | Vice President, Advancement & Innovation and Dean of the Madden College |
Yes |
Compensation* Nominating and Corporate Governance |
|||||
|
Michael D. Madden |
76 | 1992 | Managing Partner of |
Yes |
Audit Compensation |
|||||
|
Charles W. Porter |
73 | 2012 | Chief Operating Officer of MG Holdings Consultant to |
Yes | None | |||||
|
Neville L. Rhone, Jr. |
54 | 2020 | Co-Founderand Managing Partner of |
Yes |
Audit* Nominating and Corporate Governance |
|||||
| * |
Chair |
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Upon the recommendation of our nominating and corporate governance committee, our Board has nominated William H. Armstrong III and
Vote Required to Elect Director Nominees
Under our By-Laws,our directors are elected by a plurality vote. For more information on the voting requirements, see "Information About the 2025 Annual Meeting" on page 53 of this Proxy Statement.
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Recommendation of our Board of Directors
OUR BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT STOCKHOLDERS VOTE "FOR" OUR TWO CLASS III DIRECTOR NOMINEES, MR. ARMSTRONG AND
Information About Nominees and Continuing Directors
The table below provides certain information as of
|
William H. Armstrong III (Chief Executive Officer) |
Principal Occupation, Business Experience and Other |
|
|
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Age:60 Director Since:1998 Board Committees: None |
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company from 1998 to present. President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company from 1996 to 1998. Director of |
|
21
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|
(Independent) |
Principal Occupation, Business Experience and Other |
|
|
Retired President of Age:64 Director Since:2021 Board Committees: • Audit • Compensation |
Chair of the investment advisory board at Employee Retirement System of |
|
|
(Independent) |
Principal Occupation, Business Experience and Other |
|
|
Co-ChiefInvestment Officer of Age:51 Director Since:2021 Board Committees: • Compensation • Nominating and Corporate Governance (Chair) |
Co-ChiefInvestment Officer of |
|
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|
(Lead Independent Director) |
Principal Occupation, Business Experience and Other |
|
|
Vice President, Advancement & Innovation and Dean of the Age:64 Director Since:2015 Board Committees: • Compensation (Chair) • Nominating and Corporate Governance |
Vice President, Advancement & Innovation and Dean of the |
|
|
(Independent) |
Principal Occupation, Business Experience and Other |
|
|
Managing Partner of Age:76 Director Since:1992 Board Committees: • Audit • Compensation |
Managing Partner and co-founderof |
|
23
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|
(Independent) |
Principal Occupation, Business Experience and Other |
|
|
Chief Operating Officer of Age:73 Director Since:2012 Board Committees: None |
Chief Operating Officer of |
|
|
(Independent) |
Principal Occupation, Business Experience and Other |
|
|
Co-Founderand Managing Partner of Age:54 Director Since:2020 Board Committees: • Audit (Chair) • Nominating and Corporate Governance |
Co-Founderand Managing Partner of |
|
24
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Stock Ownership of Directors, Director Nominees and Executive Officers
We believe that it is important for our directors and executive officers to align their interests with the long-term interests of our stockholders. We encourage stock accumulation through the grant of equity incentives to our directors and executive officers and through our stock ownership guidelines applicable to our directors and executive officers.
The table below shows the amount of our Common Stock beneficially owned as of
|
|
Number of Shares Not Subject to Vesting of RSUs |
Number of Shares Subject to Vesting of RSUs (1) |
Total Number of Shares Beneficially Owned (2) |
Percent of Outstanding Shares (3) |
||||
|
William H. Armstrong III (4) |
630,883 | 0 | 630,883 | 7.8% | ||||
|
|
55,550 | 0 | 55,550 | * | ||||
|
|
11,161 | 2,720 | 13,881 | * | ||||
|
|
5,965 | 2,720 | 8,685 | * | ||||
|
|
14,265 | 2,720 | 16,985 | * | ||||
|
|
48,265 | 2,720 | 50,985 | * | ||||
|
|
23,265 | 2,720 | 25,985 | * | ||||
|
|
6,165 | 2,720 | 8,885 | * | ||||
|
All directors and executive officers as a group (8 persons) |
795,519 | 16,320 | 811,839 | 10.0% | ||||
| * |
Ownership is less than one percent. |
| (1) |
Reflects our Common Stock that could be acquired within sixty days of the record date upon the vesting of RSUs. |
| (2) |
In addition to the RSUs included in "Number of Shares Subject to Vesting of RSUs," each beneficial owner holds the following unvested RSUs, which are not included in the table above because they do not vest within sixty days of the record date. For more information regarding the RSUs, see "Director Compensation-2024 Equity-Based Compensation" on page 18 of this Proxy Statement and "Executive Officer Compensation-Compensation Discussion and Analysis-Components of Executive Compensation for 2024-Long-Term Incentive Awards" on page 34 of this Proxy Statement. |
|
|
RSUs | ||||
|
William H. Armstrong III |
30,688 | ||||
|
|
10,173 | ||||
|
|
350 | ||||
|
|
350 | ||||
|
|
350 | ||||
|
|
350 | ||||
|
|
350 | ||||
|
|
350 | ||||
| (3) |
Based on 8,072,897 shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of |
25
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| (4) |
Includes 3,250 shares held in his individual retirement account. |
| (5) |
Holds shares of our Common Stock with her husband in a joint account, through which they share voting power. |
| (6) |
Includes 1,000 shares held in his individual retirement account. |
Stock Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners
Based on filings with the
|
Beneficial Owner |
Total Number of Shares Beneficially Owned |
Percent of Outstanding Shares (1) |
||||||||
|
25/F, 31 Queen's Road Central Central, |
1,136,956 | 14.1% | ||||||||
|
|
1,092,084 | 13.5% | ||||||||
|
|
625,000 | 7.7% | ||||||||
|
|
418,688 | 5.2% | ||||||||
|
|
407,410 | 5.0% | ||||||||
| (1) |
Based on 8,072,897 shares of our Common Stock outstanding as of |
| (2) |
Amounts reported in the table are based on a Form 4 filed with the |
| (3) |
Based on an amended Schedule 13G filed with the |
26
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| (4) |
Based on a Schedule 13D filed with the |
| (5) |
Based on an amended Schedule 13G filed with the |
| (6) |
Based on a Schedule 13G filed with the |
Executive Officer Compensation
Compensation Discussion and Analysis
This Compensation Discussion and Analysis, or CD&A, describes and analyzes our executive compensation philosophy and the material elements of our executive compensation program in the context of the compensation paid during the last fiscal year to our president and chief executive officer and our chief financial officer (our only executive officers, referred to as our named executive officers or NEOs). Our named executive officers for 2024 are:
| • |
William H. Armstrong III, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer (our "CEO"); and |
| • |
|
Executive Summary
We are a residential and retail-focused real estate company with headquarters in
2024 Performance Highlights
We made important progress executing our business strategy during 2024, notwithstanding continued difficult conditions in the real estate business. We sold 47 acres of undeveloped land at
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Later in the year, we took advantage of lower market interest rates and the success of our projects to refinance or amend certain of our project loans. In October, we amended The Saint June construction loan to extend the maturity, lower the interest rate and increase the aggregate commitment, resulting in additional cash proceeds of
We actively managed our liquidity and costs, resulting in consolidated cash and cash equivalents of
Reflecting ongoing confidence in our achievements and strategy, in
We faced continued challenging conditions in the real estate business during 2024 and saw limited opportunities for transactions on favorable terms. Accordingly, we took steps to advance our projects, relationships and opportunities, to position us to capture value when market conditions improve.
Please refer to "Performance Highlights" on page 7 for additional information regarding our significant accomplishments during 2024.
Recent Changes to Our Executive Compensation Program
During 2022 and early 2023, the compensation committee engaged an independent compensation consultant,
Our executive compensation program has the following components: (1) base salary, (2) annual incentive awards granted under a formulaic annual incentive plan (the "AIP"), which provides for awards primarily based on objective, pre-establishedmetrics, and (3) a long-term incentive program under which our executives could receive cash and RSUs based on the success of development projects, originally named the Profit Participation Incentive Plan (the "Profit Plan"), but revised and re-namedthe Long-Term Incentive Plan (the "LTIP"). The amended and restated Profit Plan, now the LTIP, incorporated additional governors to better align the program with the overall stockholder experience and our operating performance, as described below.
Our executive compensation program reflects the compensation committee's intent that the LTIP become the primary element of incentive compensation going forward. The committee believes that this approach will better align executive compensation with the results of the Company's development efforts. However, the compensation committee recognizes that development projects are multi-year endeavors and that our senior leadership team cannot control real estate market conditions. Consequently, results and payouts under the LTIP are likely to be inconsistent year to year. With its "greater of" approach, described below, the AIP has been designed to complement the LTIP and ensure that the executive team is appropriately compensated in those off years when there are either minimal or no payouts in connection with development projects under the LTIP.
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Highlights of our executive compensation program and 2024 results are as follows:
| Executive Compensation Program | ||
| Base Salary: |
• There were no base salary changes made during 2024. The base salary of each of our NEOs was increased effective |
|
| AIP: |
• Annual incentive awards are earned by our NEOs under the AIP, which provides for awards (i) based on the achievement of pre-establishedperformance goals set by the compensation committee (representing 70% of the target award for our CEO), and (ii) capped at a multiple of the executive's base salary (150% for our CEO). In the compensation committee's discretion, up to 50% of the awards may be paid in RSUs that vest in one year, with the remainder paid in cash. |
|
|
• The AIP and the LTIP, which is described below, work in tandem. For each calendar year, our NEOs will receive the greater ofthe incentive award payable under the AIP or the payout of awards granted under the LTIP. |
||
|
• For 2024, (1) performance relative to the target objective goals resulted in overall achievement of 109.8% of the target goals, and (2) the compensation committee determined that each of our NEOs had achieved at or slightly above the threshold level of performance on the individual component of the award, resulting in total AIP amounts of |
||
| LTIP: |
• The LTIP is effective for participation interests in development projects approved on or after |
|
|
• The LTIP incorporates features intended to further align the awards with the overall stockholder experience and our operating performance by providing that payouts to our NEOs under the LTIP will be reduced as follows: |
||
|
➣ if required NAV-basedresults (which will be established by the compensation committee) have not been achieved, the amounts payable will be reduced by up to 25%; and |
||
|
➣ if the average of the payouts under the AIP for the objective and/or operationally-focused metrics for the three-year period preceding the year of payout (or such shorter period of time that the AIP has been in effect) is below the target level, the amounts payable will be reduced by between 5% and 10%. |
||
| Profit Plan: |
• During 2023, |
|
Compensation Governance and Stockholder Engagement
Our executive compensation program is designed and managed by the compensation committee, which is comprised entirely of independent directors. The compensation committee values stockholder perspectives as an element of the review process. The compensation committee ensures it is aware of our stockholders' views both through direct conversations with stockholders, including one large stockholder with a representative on our Board, and through the broad feedback mechanism of our annual say-on-payadvisory vote on executive compensation. Our conversations with stockholders, and our experience with the outcomes of the Profit Plan and its interaction with the other components of our former executive compensation program, provided the basis for the redesign of our executive compensation program in 2023, as described above. At our 2024 annual meeting, 95% of the votes cast voted in support of our say-on-payproposal.
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Table of Contents
Compensation Best Practices
The compensation committee strives to incorporate compensation "best practices" into our program design, some of which are highlighted below and discussed elsewhere in this CD&A.
|
Executive Compensation Best Practices ➣ Long-Term Incentive Program Tied to Profitability of Our Development Projects and Company Performance - Since 2018, with the adoption of the Profit Plan, our executives and other key employees have received economic incentives tied to the profitability of approved development projects. As discussed above, the Profit Plan has been modified with respect to participation interests approved on or after ➣ Annual Incentives Based Primarily on Objective, Pre-establishedPerformance Criteria- Our executives' annual incentive awards are earned under our AIP, with the majority of the awards based primarily on objective, pre-establishedannual performance goals (70% of the target award for our CEO). For each calendar year, our NEOs will receive the greater of the AIP payout or the payout of awards granted under the LTIP, and will not receive payments under both. ➣ Paying for Performance- The majority of our executive officers' compensation is variable, at risk and tied to our performance. ➣ Clawbacks- Incentive-based awards are subject to clawback provisions. ➣ Anti-Pledging and Anti-Hedging Policies- Since 2016, we have prohibited our NEOs and directors from entering into new pledges of our securities, and we prohibit our NEOs from entering into hedging arrangements with respect to our securities. ➣ "Double Trigger" Equity Acceleration due to a Change of Control- A change of control alone will not trigger acceleration of our RSUs. Rather, our employees must experience a qualifying termination within two years following a change of control to accelerate vesting. Further, awards under our Profit Plan and LTIP do not accelerate upon a change of control. ➣ "Double Trigger" Change of Control Cash Payments- The severance and change of control agreements with our NEOs provide for change of control cash payments only upon a qualifying termination of employment. ➣ Engagement of Independent Compensation Consultant- From time to time, the compensation committee, in its sole discretion, retains an independent compensation consultant who reports directly to the compensation committee and does not provide any other services to management or the Company. ➣ Executives Subject to Stock Ownership Guidelines- We expect our executive officers to maintain certain levels of ownership in our Company, thus aligning their interests with our stockholders' interests. Both of our NEOs currently exceed their stock ownership requirements. ➣ No Excise Tax Gross-Ups- We do not provide any excise tax gross-upsto our NEOs. ➣ No Retirement Benefits that are Not Available to Employees Generally- We provide our executive officers with the same retirement benefits that are generally available to our other full-time employees. ➣ No Excessive Perquisites- We provide limited perquisites to our executive officers. |
30
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Objectives of Our Compensation Program
The compensation committee is responsible for designing, implementing, and administering our executive compensation program. The compensation committee seeks to increase stockholder value by:
| • |
rewarding performance tied primarily to the success of our development projects; |
| • |
aligning the interests of the executive officers with the interests of our stockholders; and |
| • |
providing a level of total compensation that will enable the Company to attract, incentivize and retain talented executive officers. |
As a result of our implementation of these objectives, the majority of our CEO's total compensation paid during the three-year period ended
Allocation of CEO Compensation - 2022-2024
Total Fixed Pay = 21% Total Variable, At-RiskPay = 79% Total Performance Pay = 76%
Components of Executive Compensation for 2024
For 2024, our executive compensation program included three primary components: (1) base salary, (2) an opportunity for an annual cash incentive award under our AIP, and (3) participation interests in the development projects in the LTIP and predecessor Profit Plan.
After reviewing these components of our compensation program, the compensation committee believes that the risks arising from our compensation policies and practices for our employees, including our executive officers, are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company. The compensation committee believes the mix of short-term compensation (in the form of
31
Table of Contents
salary and annual incentive awards, if any), and long-term compensation (in the form of payouts under our Profit Plan and LTIP awards, as applicable) also prevents undue focus on short-term results and helps align the interests of our executive officers with the interests of our stockholders.
Base Salaries.
Our philosophy is that base salaries, which provide fixed compensation, should meet the objective of attracting and retaining the executive officers needed to manage our business successfully. In addition, given the potential for significant variability in payouts under the LTIP and Profit Plan due to the nature of real estate development and substantial business risks involved, the compensation committee strives to ensure that our executives receive competitive levels of fixed compensation. Base salaries are reviewed and determined by the compensation committee annually. With regard to our CEO, our goal is to allocate more compensation to the variable, performance-dependent elements of the total compensation package.
Until 2023, the compensation committee had not increased our executive officers' base salaries since 2018. In connection with its holistic review of our executive compensation program, our executives' base salaries were increased in 2023. No changes were made in 2024.
Annual Incentive Awards.
Annual cash incentives are a variable "at-risk"component of compensation designed to reward our executive officers for maximizing annual operating and financial performance. Beginning in 2023, annual incentive awards for our executive officers are determined under our AIP, which provides for awards subject to threshold, target and maximum payouts capped at a multiple of each officer's base salary, as set forth below:
|
Executive |
Title | Base Salary |
Threshold |
Target |
Maximum |
Target ($) |
|||||||||||||||
|
William H. Armstrong III |
CEO | $ | 750,000 | 50% | 100% | 150% | $ | 750,000 | |||||||||||||
|
|
CFO | $ | 400,000 | 25% | 75% | 125% | $ | 300,000 | |||||||||||||
Objective Component. The AIP awards are primarily driven by the Company's achievement of certain objective, pre-establishedannual performance goals. For 2024, the pre-establishedperformance goals included annual financial goals and strategic goals, with targets established based on the Company's annual budget as reviewed and approved by our Board. These objective metrics were responsible for 70% of our CEO's AIP award and 60% of our CFO's AIP award.
The table below summarizes the 2024 objective performance measures, targets and results.
|
Performance Metric |
Weighting | Threshold | Target | Maximum | Actual Performance |
Weighted % of Target Goals Achieved |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Financial Goals:(1) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
NOI(2) |
20 | % | $ | 10,000,000 | $ | 11,000,000 | $ | 12,000,000 | $ | 11,015,253 | 20.2% | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Cash G&A(3) |
20 | % | $ | 15,000,000 | $ | 13,000,000 | $ | 11,000,000 | $ | 11,233,718 | 28.8% | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Manage Liquidity(4) |
20 | % | $ | 34,000,000 | $ | 49,000,000 | $ | 64,000,000 | $ | 54,731,156 | 23.8% | |||||||||||||||||||
|
Strategic Goals(5) |
40 | % | - | - | - | - | 37.0% | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
% of Target Goals Achieved (as rounded) |
109.8% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (1) |
See Annex Afor information regarding the methodology we used to calculate the financial goals, including reconciliations. |
32
Table of Contents
| (2) |
Measures actual net operating income compared to budget for Leasing Operations segment properties stabilized prior to 2024 ( |
| (3) |
Measures general and administrative expenses before annual incentive awards for 2024 less non-cashcompensation associated with equity awards and awards under the Profit Plan and LTIP, as adjusted for agreed upon new hires and compensation increases. |
| (4) |
Measures cash and revolving credit facility availability at year-endcompared to budget (excluding cash and cash equivalents of consolidated limited partnerships), as adjusted for duplication of any letters of credit that reduce availability under the revolving credit facility where financing is in place to fund the related costs. |
| (5) |
The committee approved the following strategic objectives for our NEOs for 2024: (i) achievement of certain development milestones with respect to our development projects (9%), (ii) advancement of entitlements for pipeline properties (12%), (iii) management of debt (15%), and (iv) management of relationships with third-party investors in the Company's joint ventures (4%). |
Based on this achievement level, the payout amount of the objective portion of each executive's AIP award was calculated as follows:
|
Base Salary |
x | 10.98% | + | AIP Target Award |
x | % of Target Based on Objective Component |
= | AIP Award Based on Objective Component ($) |
Individual Component.For 2024, a portion of each executive's award was based on the compensation committee's assessment of individual performance - 30% for our CEO and 40% for our CFO. After considering each officer's performance and contributions to the Company and noting that the Company's performance had resulted in an achievement percentage slightly above target on the objective metrics, the committee determined that each executive had earned at (for our CEO) or slightly above (for our CFO) the officer's threshold payout level on the individual portion of the AIP for 2024.
Payout of AIP Awards. Under the terms of the AIP, earned awards are paid in cash, although the compensation committee may in its discretion pay up to 50% of the awards in RSUs that vest in one year, with the remainder paid in cash. As noted above, the AIP and the LTIP work in tandem. For each calendar year, our NEOs will receive the greater of the incentive award payable under the AIP or the payout of awards granted under the LTIP. For 2024, no award payouts were generated under the LTIP.
Based on the above, in
|
Executive |
Target AIP Award |
Objective Component (% of Target) |
AIP Award- Objective Component |
Individual Component (% of Target) |
AIP Award- Individual Component |
Total AIP Award |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| William H. Armstrong III | $ | 750,000 | 70 | % | $ | 576,475 | 30 | % | $ | 112,500 | $ | 688,975 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
$ | 300,000 | 60 | % | $ | 207,131 | 40 | % | $ | 60,000 | $ | 267,131 | ||||||||||||||||||
In accordance with the terms of the AIP, the committee elected to pay 50% of the award in the form of RSUs that will vest on the first anniversary of the date of grant, with the number of RSUs determined by dividing the portion of the AIP award to be paid in RSUs by the closing price of our common stock on
33
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following in payment of their 2024 AIP Awards, with the "value paid in RSUs" representing the grant date value of the RSUs received:
|
Executive |
Total 2024 AIP Award |
Value Paid in Cash |
Value Paid in RSUs |
# of RSUs Granted In February 2025 |
||||||||||||||||
|
William H. Armstrong III |
$ | 688,975 | $ | 344,505 | $ | 344,470 | 17,258 | |||||||||||||
|
|
$ | 267,131 | $ | 133,579 | $ | 133,552 | 6,691 | |||||||||||||
Long-Term Incentive Awards.
As described above, our long-term incentive program currently consists only of awards under our LTIP (which is an amended and restated version of the Profit Plan). Awards under the LTIP may be granted throughout the year in connection with the Board's approval of a new development project. The awards provide an opportunity for participants, including our NEOs, to receive cash bonuses (and/or RSUs in certain circumstances) based on the profitability of the approved development project.
Description of the LTIP.The LTIP is modeled after a "promote" arrangement that is a common compensation structure used by our private company peers. The plan aligns with our business strategy by tying a significant element of our NEOs' compensation to the success of our development projects. It also creates an ownership mentality among participants with respect to the projects, encouraging high performance and strengthening the team mindset of key members of our project teams. Payouts under the LTIP are made in cash and RSU awards in the year following the year in which a payout event occurs, and are determined as follows:
| • |
|
| • |
Payout Events- payouts, if any, under the LTIP are triggered by either a capital transaction or a valuation event for each approved development project under the plan. |
| ○ |
Capital Transactions- The "net company profits" generated by each project is calculated as net proceeds to the Company from a capital transaction (generally defined as the sale or exchange of the project to an unaffiliated party) afterthe Company has received (i) a retuof its costs and any capital contributions, and (ii) a preferred retuof 10% per annum. Any such payments will be paid in cash prior to |
| ○ |
Valuation Events- If a capital transaction has not occurred prior to the third anniversary of the date the project is substantially complete (a valuation event), the compensation committee will obtain a third-party appraisal of the project as of the date of the valuation event. Based on that value, the compensation committee will determine if any net company profits would have been generated after applying the hurdles described above. If so, then in lieu of receiving a cash payout, the participant will receive an award of an equivalent number of stock-settled RSUs, based on the 12-monthtrailing |
34
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|
average price of our Common Stock during the year in which the valuation event occurred, that will vest in annual installments over a three-year period, provided that the participant satisfies the applicable service conditions. |
LTIP Features Designed to
The following features of the LTIP are designed to protect Company and stockholder interests by limiting the Company's required cash outlay and ensuring the Board retains flexibility to determine when and if the sale of an approved development project is appropriate:
| • |
Significant Hurdles- the financial hurdles that must be met before a profit pool is funded (retuof all costs and capital contributions and a preferred retuof 10% per annum) ensure a significant retufor the Company before any payouts are made. |
| • |
Limits on Cash Payouts to Executive Officers- the total cash payments made for a given year to an executive officer may not exceed four times the executive officer's base salary, and any amounts due under the LTIP in excess of that amount will be converted to an equivalent number of stock-settled RSUs with a one-yearvesting period. |
| • |
No Cash Payouts without a Corresponding Sale- any amounts due in connection with a valuation event rather than a capital transaction are paid in an equivalent number of RSUs (with a three-year vesting period requiring continued employment to eathe award), in lieu of a cash payment. |
| • |
Board Flexibility- the inclusion of a stock payout, via the grant of a stock-settled RSU award, in the case of a valuation event gives the Board the flexibility to retain an asset if it determines that is in the best interest of the Company and its stockholders, without disadvantaging the participants or putting a cash burden on the Company. |
| • |
Reduction of Certain Payouts for NEOs- payouts to our NEOs under new participation interests granted on or after |
| • |
Elimination of Certain Payouts for NEOs- payouts to our NEOs under new participation interests granted on or after |
Profit Plan and LTIP Results for 2024.As noted above, in structuring our current executive compensation program, the compensation committee recognized that given the nature of our development projects and the business risks involved, payouts under the LTIP and the Profit Plan would not necessarily occur every year.
For 2024, the only payout event under the plans was the grant of stock-settled RSUs in early 2024 in payment of the valuation event for
| No. of RSUs granted in 2024 for |
|||||
|
|
16,395 | ||||
|
|
4,099 | ||||
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Outstanding Development Projects under the Profit Plan and LTIP. The following table sets forth the outstanding approved development projects under the Profit Plan and LTIP, the participation interests in each project granted to our NEOs and the valuation event date for each project that is substantially complete:
|
Approved |
Participation Interests (1) | Grant Date | Substantial Completion Date |
Valuation Event Date (2) |
||||||||
|
Plan |
||||||||||||
|
|
Profit Plan |
32% | 8% | N/A | N/A | |||||||
|
|
Profit Plan |
30% | 7.5% | N/A | N/A | |||||||
|
|
Profit Plan |
25% | 5% | 2022 |
2025 |
|||||||
|
The |
Profit Plan |
27.5% | 7.5% | 2023 |
2026 |
|||||||
|
The Saint George |
LTIP |
25% | 7.5% | N/A | N/A | |||||||
| (1) |
As a non-equityincentive award, participation interests granted under the Profit Plan and LTIP are reflected in the Summary Compensation Table at payout rather than at grant. |
| (2) |
The valuation event date is the third anniversary of the date the approved development project is substantially complete. If a capital transaction (generally defined as the sale or exchange of the project to an unaffiliated party) has not occurred by this date, the Profit Plan and LTIP provide for a potential grant of RSUs as described above. |
Limited Executive Perquisites and No Special Retirement Benefits
We provide limited perquisites to our executive officers. Please see the 2024 Summary Compensation Table on page 39 for a description of the limited perquisites provided in 2024.
We provide our executive officers with the same retirement benefits that are generally available to our other full-time employees. Specifically, we maintain a 401(k) plan, which is a tax-qualifieddefined contribution retirement plan. Our 401(k) plan provides a 5% employer match, a 3% safe harbor contribution and a discretionary match of up to 10% of employee eligible compensation. We do not maintain any excess benefit plans, defined benefit or pension plans, or any deferred compensation plans. We provide life insurance to all full-time Company employees.
Change of Control and Severance Benefits
We provide our executive officers with certain contractual protections in the event of an involuntary separation either prior to or in connection with a change of control of the Company. Effective
We also believe that the occurrence, or potential occurrence, of a change of control transaction will create uncertainty regarding the continued employment of our executive officers. This uncertainty results from the fact that many change of control transactions result in significant organizational
36
Table of Contents
changes, particularly at the senior executive level. In order to encourage our executive officers to remain employed with the Company during the important time when their prospects for continued employment following a transaction are often uncertain, we provide them with enhanced severance benefits if their employment is terminated by the Company without cause or by the executive with good reason in connection with a change of control. We do not provide excise tax gross-upprotections under any change of control arrangements with our executive officers.
The payment of cash severance benefits following a change of control transaction is only triggered by an actual or constructive termination of employment following the change of control (i.e., a "double trigger"). In addition, accelerated vesting of our outstanding RSUs is also a double trigger, as vesting will not be triggered by a change of control alone and requires a qualifying termination within two years following the change of control. Finally, participation interests granted under our Profit Plan and LTIP will not accelerate upon a change of control or a qualifying termination, but will remain outstanding and be paid out in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan.
The potential severance and change of control benefits payable under these agreements as of
Compensation Processes and Policies
Role of Advisors.
To assist in evaluating our compensation practices and the level of compensation provided to our executives, the compensation committee has engaged an independent compensation consultant from time to time. Consistent with the compensation committee's longstanding policy, any such consultant will not provide, and has not provided, any services to the Company's management. The compensation committee last engaged FTI in 2022 and early 2023 to conduct a holistic review of the Company's executive compensation program. FTI (1) provided certain background information on market practices relating to how development-focused companies compensate their key executive officers, (2) compared the Company's executive compensation programs to a group of peer companies, and (3) recommended the structure of a new annual incentive plan with objective, pre-establishedperformance goals and changes to the Profit Plan to further align with Company performance and stockholder interests.
In connection with its comprehensive review during 2022 and early 2023, FTI recommended a group of public real estate investment trusts ("REITs") and real estate management companies that it believed represents an appropriate peer group based on asset focus and size. The resulting peer group selected by the compensation committee consisted of the 13 public real estate companies listed below (the "peer group"):
|
• Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. |
• One Liberty Properties, Inc. |
|
|
• CatchMark Timber Trust, Inc. |
• SoTHERLY Hotels Inc. |
|
|
• CTO |
• Tejon Ranch Co. |
|
|
• Farmland Partners Inc. |
• The InterGroup Corporation |
|
|
• Forestar Group Inc. |
• UMH Properties, Inc. |
|
|
• FRP Holdings, Inc. |
• Whitestone REIT |
|
|
• Maui Land & Pineapple Company, Inc. |
||
37
Table of Contents
.
.
in accordance with
.
basis after reviewing the nature of the specific trust involved and considering whether the executive has maintained a pecuniary interest in the shares.
.
.
|
|
Year
|
Salary
|
Stock
Awards
(1)
|
Non-Equity
Incentive Plan (2)
|
All Other
Compensation (3)
|
Total
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
William H. Armstrong III
Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
|
2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 708,333 | 0 | 607,931 | 70,517 | 1,386,781 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
2024 | 400,000 | 178,248 | 133,579 | 75,425 | 787,252 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | 2023 | 379,167 | 0 | 245,768 | 72,786 | 697,721 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (1) |
The "Stock Awards" represents RSUs valued on the date of grant at the closing sale price per share of our Common Stock in accordance with ASC Topic 718, disregarding the effect of forfeitures. Amounts represent RSUs granted in
|
| (2) |
Reflects the cash portion of the annual incentive award payments received under our AIP as approved by the compensation committee based primarily on achievement of
pre-established
goals. In connection with approving the payout of the 2024 AIP in |
Table of Contents
| (3) |
The amounts reported in the "All Other Compensation" column for 2024 are set forth in the table below and reflect, for each named executive officer, the sum of the incremental cost to the Company of all perquisites and other personal benefits, which consists of payments for automobile leases, maintenance and insurance, and all other additional compensation, which consists of amounts contributed by the Company to the 401(k) plan and the dollar value of life insurance premiums paid by the Company. The 401(k) plan and life insurance benefits are available to our named executive officers on the same basis as other Company employees. |
|
Perquisites Other |
Additional All Other Compensation | ||||||||||||||
| Name | 401(k) Plan Contributions |
Life Insurance Premiums |
|||||||||||||
|
Mr. Armstrong |
$ | 21,521 | $ | 44,700 | $ | 2,727 | |||||||||
|
Ms. Pickens |
27,998 | 44,700 | 2,727 | ||||||||||||
| (a) |
Consists of payments for automobile leases, maintenance and insurance. |
Outstanding Equity Awards at
| Stock Awards | ||||||||||
| Name | Number of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested (1) |
Market Value of Shares or Units of Stock That Have Not Vested (2) |
||||||||
|
William H. Armstrong III |
48,377 | $ | 1,004,307 | |||||||
|
Erin |
13,253 | 275,132 | ||||||||
| (1) |
Consists of RSUs awarded under our Profit Plan, in connection with our AIP payouts, and under our annual equity award program (which our executive officers ceased participating in effective for 2023). Unless the award is forfeited or vesting accelerates pursuant to the terms of the RSU agreement, the RSUs held by the NEOs will vest and be paid out in an equivalent number of shares of our Common Stock as follows: |
|
|
RSUs |
Vesting Date |
||||
|
|
4,688
5,000 13,671 16,395 8,623 |
50% on each of 33% on each of |
||||
|
|
750
1,500 3,418 4,099 3,486 |
50% on each of 33% on each of |
||||
| (2) |
The market value of the awards as reflected in this table was based on the |
40
Table of Contents
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The following table presents information as of
|
Plan Category |
Number of Securities To be Issued Upon Exercise of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights (a) (1) |
Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Outstanding Options, Warrants and Rights (b) |
Number of Securities Remaining Available for Future Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans ( Reflected in Column (a)) (c) (2) |
||||||||||||
|
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders |
160,583 | N/A | 192,894 | ||||||||||||
|
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders |
N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||||||||||
|
Total |
160,583 | N/A | 192,894 | ||||||||||||
| (1) |
The number of securities to be issued upon the exercise of outstanding options, warrants and rights represents shares issuable upon the vesting of RSUs. These awards are not reflected in column (b) as they do not have an exercise price. |
| (2) |
Represents shares available for grant of new awards under the 2022 Stock Incentive Plan as of |
Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control
Severance and Change of Control Agreements.
As of
Termination without Cause or with Good Reason.
Each COC Agreement provides that if the executive officer's employment is terminated by the Company without cause or by the executive with good reason, the executive will receive from the Company:
| • |
any accrued but unpaid salary and a pro-ratabonus for the year in which he or she was terminated; |
| • |
a lump-sumcash payment equal to the sum of (a) the executive's base salary in effect at the time of termination and (b) the average annual bonus awarded to the executive for the three fiscal years immediately preceding the termination date (excluding any payments for long-term incentives); and |
41
Table of Contents
| • |
continuation of insurance and welfare benefits until the earlier of (a) |
Termination after Change of Control as a Result of Death, Disability or Retirement.
Each COC Agreement provides that if, during the three-year period following a change of control, the executive's employment with the Company or its successor is terminated as a result of death, disability or retirement, the executive or his or her legal representatives will receive from the Company or its successor any accrued but unpaid salary and a pro-ratabonus for the year in which he or she was terminated.
Termination after Change of Control for Cause or Voluntary Termination without Good Reason.
Each COC Agreement provides that if, following a change of control, the executive's employment with the Company or its successor is terminated for cause (as defined below) or by the executive for other than good reason (as defined below), the executive will receive from the Company or its successor any accrued but unpaid salary.
Termination after Change of Control without Cause or with Good Reason.
Each COC Agreement provides that if, during the three-year period following a change of control, the Company or its successor terminates the executive without cause, or the executive voluntarily terminates his or her employment for good reason, the executive will receive from the Company or its successor:
| • |
any accrued but unpaid salary and a pro-ratabonus for the year in which he or she was terminated; |
| • |
a lump-sumcash payment equal to 2.99 times the sum of (a) the executive's base salary in effect at the time of termination and (b) the highest annual bonus awarded to the executive for the three fiscal years immediately preceding the termination date (excluding any payments for long-term incentives); and |
| • |
continuation of insurance and welfare benefits until the earlier of (a) |
If any part of the payments or benefits received by the executive in connection with a termination following a change of control constitutes an excess parachute payment under Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code, the executive will receive the greater of (1) the amount of such payments and benefits reduced so that none of the amount constitutes an excess parachute payment, net of income taxes, or (2) the amount of such payments and benefits, net of income taxes and net of excise taxes under Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code.
As a condition to receipt of these benefits,
42
Table of Contents
New Agreements
The New Agreements are generally consistent with the COC Agreements described above, except for the following changes:
| • |
the lump-sumcash payment due in connection with a termination without cause or with good reason unrelated to a change of control shall equal 2 times (instead of 1 times) the sum of (a) the executive's base salary in effect at the time of termination and (b) the average annual bonus awarded to the executive for the three fiscal years immediately preceding the termination date (the "Average Bonus"); |
| • |
the lump-sumcash payment due in connection with a termination without cause or with good reason in connection with a change of control shall equal to 2.99 times the sum of (a) the executive's base salary in effect at the time of termination and (b) the Average Bonus (instead of highest); and |
| • |
for purposes of calculating the Average Bonus, the New Agreements clarified that each year's annual bonus amount shall include amounts paid in cash or in restricted stock units, if applicable, in accordance with the terms of the AIP, and if the executive receives an LTIP award in lieu of an annual bonus for a given fiscal year (pursuant to the terms of the AIP and the LTIP requiring the payment of only the greater of the two awards), the executive's annual bonus for such fiscal year shall be the calculated annual bonus the executive would have received for such fiscal year. |
Equity-Based Awards - Impact of Termination of Employment or Change of Control.
Pursuant to the terms of our RSU agreements, the impact of a termination of employment on the awards differs based on the origin of the RSU grant, as follows:
| • |
For all RSUs, a termination of employment as a result of death, disability or retirement results in accelerated vesting of the executive officer's outstanding RSUs. |
| • |
For RSUs granted as a payout under our Profit Plan, LTIP or AIP, the termination of the recipient's employment by the Company without cause or by the recipient for good reason will result in vesting of the RSUs, whether or not in connection with a change of control. |
| • |
For RSUs granted as part of our annual equity award program (which our executive officers ceased participating in effective for 2023), a termination of employment by the Company without cause or by the recipient for good reason will only result in accelerated vesting of the RSUs if such termination occurs within two years following the change of control. |
Profit Participation Incentive Plan and Long-Term Incentive Plan - Impact of Termination of Employment or Change of Control.
Pursuant to the terms of the Profit Plan and the LTIP, except as noted below, upon termination of employment prior to completion of a capital transaction with respect to an approved project or the grant of RSUs in connection with a valuation event for an approved project, an executive officer will forfeit his or her award relating to the approved project. However, if the termination is by the Company without cause or by the executive officer with good reason, then outstanding unvested awards will not be forfeited, and will remain outstanding and be paid out in accordance with the terms of the applicable plan; provided, that any payout owed due to a valuation event that otherwise would have been paid in RSUs instead will be made in a lump sum cash payment prior to
43
Table of Contents
The following table quantifies the potential payments to our NEOs that would be due or accelerated under the contracts, arrangements, plans and scenarios discussed above, assuming a
Potential Payments Upon Termination or Change in Control
|
|
Lump Sum Severance Payment (1) |
Long-Term Incentives (Unvested) (2) |
Accrued Dividend Equivalents |
Health and Life Benefits |
Total (3) | |||||||||||||||
|
William H. Armstrong III |
||||||||||||||||||||
|
• Death, Disability, or Retirement (4) |
N/A | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||
|
• Termination without Cause (5) |
1,004,307 | 109,089 | $ | 25,813 | 2,827,781 | |||||||||||||||
|
• Termination with Good Reason |
1,686,858 | 803,184 | 109,089 | 25,813 | 2,626,685 | |||||||||||||||
|
• Change of Control |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||
| • Termination after Change of Control (without Cause or with Good Reason) | 8,222,500 | 1,004,307 | 109,089 | 25,813 | 9,363,423 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
• Death, Disability, or Retirement (4) |
N/A | 275,132 | 26,470 | N/A | 301,602 | |||||||||||||||
|
• Termination without Cause (5) |
675,897 | 275,132 | 26,470 | 25,813 | 1,005,026 | |||||||||||||||
|
• Termination with Good Reason |
675,897 | 228,422 | 26,470 | 25,813 | 958,316 | |||||||||||||||
|
• Change of Control |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||
|
• Termination after Change of Control (without Cause or with Good Reason) |
2,691,000 | 275,132 | 26,470 | 25,813 | 3,020,129 | |||||||||||||||
| (1) |
Amounts reflected do not include accrued base salary or a pro-ratabonus for 2024, as these amounts would have been earned by the executive as of |
| (2) |
Amounts represent the value of the RSUs that would have vested for each NEO. In addition, under the Profit Plan and LTIP, upon a termination without Cause or with Good Reason, participation interests will remain outstanding and pay out pursuant to the terms of the Profit Plan. |
| (3) |
Pursuant to the terms of the COC Agreements, the total payments may be subject to reduction if such payments result in the imposition of an excise tax under Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code, but for purposes of this table we have not reflected any modifications that could occur as a result of Section 280G of the Internal Revenue Code. |
| (4) |
Assumes for purposes of this table that the executive satisfies the applicable conditions for disability and retirement. |
| (5) |
Reflects vesting acceleration for outstanding RSUs granted pursuant to the terms of the Profit Plan. Vesting of the RSUs previously granted to the executives under our annual long-term incentive program upon a termination without cause is at the discretion of the compensation committee, and we have assumed for purposes of the table that the compensation committee would vest the RSUs. |
44
Table of Contents
| • |
the executive's failure to perform his or her duties with the Company or its successor following written demand;
|
| • |
the executive's engagement in conduct that is injurious to the Company or its successor;or
|
| • |
the final conviction of the executive of a felony or the entering by the executive of a guilty plea or a plea of no contest to a felony.
|
| • |
the executive's commission of an illegal act (other than traffic violations or misdemeanors punishable solely by the payment of a fine);
|
| • |
the executive's engagement in dishonest or unethical conduct;
|
| • |
the executive's commission of any fraud, theft, embezzlement, or misappropriation of funds;
|
| • |
the executive's failure to carry out a directive of his or her superior; or
|
| • |
the breach by the executive of the terms of his or her engagement.
|
| • |
the acquisition by any person of beneficial ownership of 30% or more of the Company's outstanding Common Stock;
|
| • |
our incumbent Board and individuals whose election or nomination to serve on our Board was approved by a majority of our Board and not related to a proxy contest ceasing for any reason to constitute at least a majority of our Board;
|
| • |
the consummation of a reorganization, merger or consolidation, or sale or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company; or
|
| • |
approval by the Company's stockholders of a complete liquidation or dissolution of the Company.
|
| • |
any failure of the Company or its successor to provide the executive with the position, duties and responsibilities at least commensurate with the most significant of those held, exercised and assigned prior to the change of control;
|
| • |
the assignment to the executive of any duties inconsistent with such executive's position, duties or responsibilities;
|
| • |
the failure of the Company or its successor to comply with the terms of the agreement; or
|
| • |
the Company or its successor requiring the executive to be based at any office or location 35 miles or greater from the location at which such executive was based prior to the change of control.
|
philosophy and how we align executive compensation with our performance, refer to "Executive Officer Compensation-Compensation Discussion and Analysis" on page 27.
|
Year
|
Summary
Compensation Table Total for PEO (1)
|
Compensation
Actually Paid to PEO (2)
|
Average
Summary Compensation Table Total for Non-PEO-
NEO (3)
|
Average
Compensation Actually Paid to Non-PEO-
NEO (4)
|
Value of Initial
Fixed Investment Based on Company Total Stockholder Retu (5)
|
Net Income
(Loss) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 1,386,781 | 1,901,890 | 697,721 | 996,976 | 91.57 | (14,807,000 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 7,548,069 | 4,582,260 | 1,489,190 | 1,079,053 | 61.20 | 90,426,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
(1)
|
For each fiscal year included in the table, William H. Armstrong III served as our PEO. The amounts in this column are equal to the amounts in the "total" compensation column in the SCT for the PEO for each applicable year.
|
|
(2)
|
The amounts reported in this column represent the amount of "compensation actually paid," or "CAP," to
S-K.
In accordance with the rule, the adjustments reflected in the table below were made to |
|
Adjust Value of
Current Year's Equity Award Grants |
Adjust For Incremental
Increase/(Decrease)
in
Value of All Other Outstanding Equity Award Grants |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Year
|
SCT Total
|
Subtract
Grant
Date Fair
Value as
reported
in SCT
|
Add
Fair
Value at 12/31
|
Unvested
Awards as
of 12/31 |
Vested
Awards during Year |
CAP
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | $(587,923 | ) | $(189,208 | ) | $(206,185 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 1,386,781 | 0 | 0 | $(25,251 | ) | 1,901,890 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 7,548,069 | (4,311,015 | ) | 1,986,581 | (718,105 | ) | 76,730 | 4,582,260 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
(3)
|
Our only other NEO (other than
|
|
(4)
|
The amounts reported in this column represent the amount of "compensation actually paid," or "CAP," to
S-K.
In accordance with the rule, the adjustments reflected in the table below were made to |
|
Adjust Value of
Current Year's Equity Award Grants |
Adjust For Incremental
Increase/(Decrease)
in
Value of All Other Outstanding Equity Award Grants |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Year
|
SCT Total
|
Subtract
Grant
Date Fair
Value as
reported
in SCT
|
Add
Fair
Value at
12/31
|
Unvested
Awards as
of 12/31
|
Vested
Awards during Year |
CAP
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024 | $(133,579 | ) | $(45,911 | ) | $(45,860 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 697,721 | 0 | 0 | 300,464 | (1,209 | ) | 996,976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | 1,489,190 | (546,145 | ) | 255,650 | (133,885 | ) | 14,243 | 1,079,053 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
(5)
|
Reflects the cumulative total stockholder retuon the Company's Common Stock as measured by (i) the sum of the cumulative amount of dividends for the measurement period, assuming dividend reinvestment, and the difference between the Company's share price at the end and the beginning of the measurement period, divided by (ii) the share price at the beginning of the measurement period. The "measurement period" is the period beginning at the "measurement point" established by the market close on the last trading day before the earliest fiscal year in the table, through and including the end of the fiscal year for which the TSR is being calculated. The closing price at the measurement point is converted into a fixed investment of
|
Table of Contents
Relationship between Company Performance and Compensation Actually Paid
During 2022, we generated record net income attributable to common stockholders, including from the sale of the mixed-usereal estate property Block 21, resulting in net income of
Under our executive compensation program, a large portion of our PEO's and other NEO's compensation over the last three years consists of RSUs that settle in stock and vest over time. These equity awards are tied to the performance of our stock price and also serve a retention goal. Over the last three fiscal years our stock price has been volatile, increasing as of the end of 2023 as compared to the end of 2022, but then declining again as of the end of 2024. This resulted in an increase in TSR and an increase in the value of outstanding equity awards held by our executives as of the end of 2023 compared to 2022, but then a decrease in TSR and a decrease in the value of outstanding equity awards held by our executives as of the end of 2024 compared to 2023.
Proposal No. 2: Advisory Vote on the Compensation of Our Named Executive Officers
The Dodd-Frank Act, enacted in
At last year's annual meeting of stockholders, we provided our stockholders with the opportunity to cast a non-bindingadvisory vote regarding the compensation of our NEOs, and our stockholders approved the "say-on-pay"proposal, with approximately 95% of the shares present and entitled to vote voting for the proposal. This year we are again asking our stockholders to vote on the following resolution:
RESOLVED, that the stockholders of
We understand that our executive compensation practices are important to our stockholders. Our core executive compensation philosophy continues to be based on pay for performance, and we believe that our executive compensation program is strongly aligned with the long-term interests of our stockholders, as more fully discussed in "Executive Officer Compensation-Compensation Discussion and Analysis" on page 27 of this Proxy Statement.
In considering how to vote on this proposal, we encourage you to review the relevant disclosures in this Proxy Statement, especially the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, which contains detailed information about our executive compensation program.
47
Table of Contents
Although this advisory vote is not binding, our Board and the compensation committee value the opinion of our stockholders and will consider the outcome of the vote when evaluating our executive compensation program. We currently hold a say-on-payvote at each annual meeting of stockholders. Accordingly, we expect the next say-on-payvote will occur at our 2026 annual meeting of stockholders, unless we announce otherwise following the board's consideration of the advisory vote provided in Proposal No. 3 of this Proxy Statement regarding the frequency of future advisory votes on executive compensation.
Vote Required to Approve, on an Advisory Basis, the Compensation of Our Named Executive Officers
Approval of this proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of our Common Stock present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote. For more information on the voting requirements, see "Information About the 2025 Annual Meeting" on page 53 of this Proxy Statement.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
OUR BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE "FOR" THE APPROVAL, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AS DISCLOSED IN THIS PROXY STATEMENT.
Proposal No. 3: Advisory Vote on the Frequency of Future Advisory Votes on the Compensation of Our Named Executive Officers
The Dodd-Frank Act also provides that stockholders must be given the opportunity to vote, on a nonbinding, advisory basis, for their preference as to how frequently we should seek future say-on-pay votes.We refer to this vote as the "say-on-frequency" vote.Accordingly, we are asking our stockholders to indicate, on a non-binding, advisorybasis, whether they would prefer that we conduct future say-on-pay votesonce every one, two or three years. Stockholders also may, if they wish, abstain from casting a vote on this proposal.
The say-on-frequency voteis required to be offered to our stockholders at least once every six years. Our initial say-on-frequency voteoccurred in 2013 and again in 2019. At both meetings, stockholders agreed with our board's recommendation that say-on-pay votesshould occur every year. We have included a say-on-pay voteat each meeting of stockholders that we have held since 2013.
Our board recommends that the say-on-pay votecontinue to be held every year so that stockholders may continue to provide timely, direct input on our executive compensation program. Our board also believes that an annual vote is consistent with our efforts to engage in an ongoing dialogue with our stockholders on executive compensation and corporate governance matters.
Although the say-on-frequency voteis advisory and non-binding, ourboard and the compensation committee will carefully consider the outcome of the vote when making future decisions on the frequency of say-on-pay voteson executive compensation.
We expect the next say-on-frequencyvote will occur at our 2031 annual meeting of stockholders.
Vote Required to Approve, on an Advisory Basis, the Frequency of Future Advisory Votes on the Compensation of Our Named Executive Officers
The proxy card provides stockholders with the opportunity to choose among four options (holding the vote every one, two or three years, or abstaining) and, therefore, stockholders will not be voting to approve or disapprove the recommendation of the board. The approval of the frequency of future advisory votes on executive compensation is an advisory vote; however, our board and the compensation committee will consider the affirmative vote of a majority of the common stock present in
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person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote as constituting approval of this proposal. Because this advisory vote has three possible frequency voting responses, if none of the frequency options receive the vote of holders of a majority of the shares of common stock present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote, the option receiving the greatest number of votes will be considered the frequency recommended by our stockholders. For more information on the voting requirements, see "Information About the 2025 Annual Meeting."
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
OUR BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE FOR "1 YEAR" FOR THE ADVISORY VOTE ON THE FREQUENCY OF FUTURE ADVISORY VOTES ON THE COMPENSATION OF OUR NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS.
Audit Committee Report
The audit committee is currently composed of three directors,
We oversee the Company's financial reporting process on behalf of the Board. Our responsibility is to monitor this process, but we are not responsible for developing and consistently applying the Company's accounting principles and practices, preparing and maintaining the integrity of the Company's financial statements and maintaining an appropriate system of internal controls; those are the responsibilities of the Company's management. We are also not responsible for auditing the Company's financial statements and reviewing the Company's unaudited interim financial statements; those are the responsibilities of the Company's independent registered public accounting firm.
During 2024, management assessed the effectiveness of the Company's system of internal control over financial reporting in connection with the Company's compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We reviewed and discussed with management,
Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm; Financial Statement Review
In
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We have received from
In addition, we have discussed with
identified critical audit matter addressed during the audit, their understanding and evaluation of the Company's internal controls as they considered necessary to support their opinion on the financial statements for the year 2024, and various factors affecting the overall quality of accounting principles applied in the Company's financial reporting.
In reliance on these reviews and discussions, we recommended to the Board, and the Board approved, the inclusion of the audited financial statements for 2024 in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-Kfor filing with the
Internal Audit
We also review the Company's internal audit function, including the selection and compensation of the Company's internal auditor. In
Submitted by the audit committee on
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Fees and Related Disclosures for Accounting Services
The following table lists the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by
| 2024 | 2023 | |||||
|
Audit Fees (1) |
$ | 265,325 | ||||
|
Audit-Related Fees |
- | - | ||||
|
Tax Fees |
- | - | ||||
|
All Other Fees |
- | - | ||||
| (1) |
Audit Fees were primarily for professional services rendered to comply with all statutory and financial audit requirements for the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates and certain services related to consultations with the Company's management as to the accounting or disclosure treatment of transactions or events and the impact of final or proposed rules, standards or interpretations by regulatory and standard setting bodies. |
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The audit committee has determined that the provision of the services described above is compatible with maintaining the independence of our independent registered public accounting firm.
Pre-ApprovalPolicies and Procedures
The audit committee's policy is to pre-approveall audit services, audit-related services and other services permitted by law provided by our independent registered public accounting firm. In accordance with that policy, the audit committee annually pre-approvesa list of specific services and categories of services, including audit, audit-related and other services, for the upcoming or current fiscal year, subject to specified cost levels. Any service that is not included in the approved list of services must be separately pre-approvedby the audit committee. In addition, if fees for any service exceed the amount that has been pre-approved,then payment of additional fees for such service must be specifically pre-approvedby the audit committee; however, any proposed service that has an anticipated or additional cost of no more than
At each regularly scheduled audit committee meeting, management updates the audit committee on the scope and anticipated cost of (1) any service pre-approvedby the chair since the last meeting of the audit committee; and (2) the projected fees for each service or group of services being provided by our independent registered public accounting firm. All of the services provided by our independent registered public accounting firm during the last two fiscal years have been approved in advance by the audit committee, and none of those services required use of the de minimisexception to pre-approvalcontained in the
Proposal No. 4: Ratification, on an Advisory Basis, of the Appointment of Our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
In accordance with our charter, our Audit Committee appointed
Vote Required to Ratify, on an Advisory Basis, the Appointment of Our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Approval of this proposal requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of our Common Stock present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote. For more information on the voting requirements, see "Information About the 2025 Annual Meeting" on page 53 of this Proxy Statement.
Recommendation of the Board of Directors
OUR BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE "FOR" THE RATIFICATION, ON AN ADVISORY BASIS, OF THE APPOINTMENT OF OUR INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM.
Certain Transactions
Our corporate governance guidelines provide that any transaction that would require disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-Kof the rules and regulations of the
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be approved or ratified if the audit committee determines that such transaction will not impair the involved person's service to, and exercise of judgment on behalf of, the Company, or otherwise create a conflict of interest that would be detrimental to the Company. Below is a description of such transactions entered into or that remain in effect since
MHLLC Stock Purchase Agreement and LCHM Holdings Assignment and Assumption Agreement
On
Also under the Investor Rights Agreement,
Stratus Block 150, L.P. Limited Partnership Interest
On
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limited partners"), for
On
Former Employment of
Effective
Information About the 2025 Annual Meeting
Why am I receiving these proxy materials?
Our Board is soliciting your proxy to vote at our 2025 Annual Meeting because you owned shares of our Common Stock at the close of business on
What is a proxy?
A proxy is your legal designation of another person to vote the stock you own. That other person is called a proxy. If you designate someone as your proxy in a written document, that document
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is also called a proxy or a proxy card. We have designated two of our officers as the Company's proxies for the 2025 Annual Meeting. These officers are William H. Armstrong III and
When and where will the 2025 Annual Meeting be held?
The 2025 Annual Meeting will be held on
What should I bring if I plan to attend the 2025 Annual Meeting in person?
You may attend the 2025 Annual Meeting if you are a stockholder of record or beneficial owner (who produces acceptable proof of ownership) of our Common Stock at the close of business on the record date, or you are a duly appointed proxy or legal representative of such stockholder of record or beneficial owner. If you plan to attend the 2025 Annual Meeting in person, please bring a government-issued picture identification and, if your shares of our Common Stock are held in "street name," meaning a bank, broker, trustee or other nominee is the stockholder of record of your shares, please bring acceptable proof of ownership, which is either an account statement or a letter from your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee confirming that you beneficially owned shares of
Who is soliciting my proxy?
Our Board, on behalf of the Company, is soliciting your proxy to vote your shares of our Common Stock on all matters scheduled to come before the 2025 Annual Meeting, whether or not you attend in person. By marking, signing, dating and returning the proxy card or voting instruction form, or by submitting your proxy and voting instructions via the Internet or phone, you are authorizing the proxy holders to vote your shares of our Common Stock at the 2025 Annual Meeting as you have instructed.
On what matters will I be voting?
At the 2025 Annual Meeting, you will be asked to (1) elect two Class III directors; (2) approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of our named executive officers; (3) approve, on an advisory basis, the frequency of future advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers; (4) ratify, on an advisory basis, the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm for 2025; and (5) consider any other matter that properly comes before the 2025 Annual Meeting.
How does the Board recommend that I cast my vote?
Our Board recommends that you vote:
| Proposal | Board Recommendation | |||
| No. 1 | Election of the two Class III directors | FOR each nominee | ||
| No. 2 | Approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers | FOR | ||
| No. 3 | Approval, on an advisory basis, of the frequency of future advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers | 1 YEAR | ||
| No. 4 | Ratification, on an advisory basis, of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm for 2025 | FOR | ||
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We do not expect any matters to be presented for action at the 2025 Annual Meeting other than the matters described in this Proxy Statement. However, by marking, signing, dating and returning your proxy card or by following the instructions on your proxy card to submit your proxy and voting instructions via the Internet or phone, you will give to the persons named as proxies discretionary voting authority with respect to any matter that may properly come before the 2025 Annual Meeting about which we did not have notice at least 45 days before the anniversary date on which we first sent our proxy materials for the prior year's annual meeting of stockholders or by
How many votes may I cast?
You may cast one vote for every share of our Common Stock that you owned on
How many shares of Common Stock are eligible to be voted?
As of
How many shares of Common Stock must be present to hold the 2025 Annual Meeting?
Under
How do I vote?
Stockholders of Record
If your shares of our Common Stock are registered directly in your name with our transfer agent,
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|
Internet - Submit your proxy and voting instructions via the Internet as instructed on the enclosed proxy card. • Use the Internet to submit your proxy and voting instructions 24 hours a day, seven days a week until • Please have your proxy card available and follow the instructions on the proxy card. |
||
|
Phone - Submit your proxy and voting instructions by phone (within the • Telephone voting facilities will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week until • Please have your proxy card available and follow the instructions on the proxy card. |
||
|
Mail - Submit your proxy and voting instructions by mail by marking, signing and dating your proxy card and returning it in the postage-paid envelope provided. |
||
If you submit your proxy and voting instructions via the Internet or by phone, you do not need to mail your proxy card. The proxies will vote your shares of our Common Stock at the 2025 Annual Meeting as instructed by the latest-dated validly executed proxy received from you, whether submitted via the Internet, phone or by mail. You may also vote in person at the 2025 Annual Meeting.
For a discussion of the treatment of a properly marked, signed and dated proxy card without voting instructions on any or all of the proposals, please see the question below titled "What happens if I do not submit voting instructions for a proposal? What is discretionary voting? What is a broker non-vote?"
Beneficial Owners
If your shares of our Common Stock are held in a stock brokerage account by a bank, broker, trustee or other nominee, you are considered the beneficial owner of shares held in "street name" and these proxy materials are being forwarded to you by your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee that is considered the stockholder of record of those shares. As the beneficial owner, you have the right to direct your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee on how to vote your shares of our Common Stock via the Internet or by telephone, if the bank, broker, trustee or other nominee offers these options, or by marking, signing, dating and returning a voting instruction form. Your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee will send you instructions on how to submit your voting instructions for your shares of our Common Stock. For a discussion of the rules regarding the voting of shares of our Common Stock held by beneficial owners, please see the question below titled "What happens if I do not submit voting instructions for a proposal? What is discretionary voting? What is a broker non-vote?"
What happens if I do not submit voting instructions for a proposal? What is discretionary voting? What is a broker non-vote?
If you properly mark, sign, date and retua proxy card or voting instruction form, your shares of our Common Stock will be voted as you specify. If you are a stockholder of record and you make no specifications on your proxy card, your shares of our Common Stock will be voted in accordance with the recommendations of our Board, as provided above. If you are a beneficial owner and you do not provide voting instructions to your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee holding shares of our Common Stock for you, your shares of our Common Stock will not be voted with respect to any proposal for which the stockholder of record does not have discretionary authority to vote. Rules of the
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Which proposals are considered "discretionary" and which are considered "non-discretionary"?
The classification of each proposal as discretionary or non-discretionaryunder the applicable rules is below.
| Proposal |
Classification Under Applicable Rules |
|||
|
No. 1 |
Election of the two Class III directors |
Non-Discretionary |
||
| No. 2 | Approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers | Non-Discretionary | ||
| No. 3 | Approval, on an advisory basis, of the frequency of future advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers | Non-Discretionary | ||
| No. 4 | Ratification, on an advisory basis, of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm for 2025 | Discretionary | ||
If you are a beneficial owner and you do not provide voting instructions on the discretionary proposal to your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee holding shares for you, your shares may be voted by such nominee on the discretionary proposal. If you are a beneficial owner and you do not provide voting instructions on non-discretionaryproposals to your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee holding shares for you, your shares will not be voted with respect to these non-discretionaryproposals. Without your voting instructions, a broker non-votewill occur with respect to your shares on each non-discretionaryproposal for which you have not provided voting instructions, if your shares are voted on any other proposal.
Will my shares be voted if I do nothing?
If your shares are registered in your name and you do nothing, your shares will not be voted. You must sign and retua proxy card in order for your shares to be voted, unless you vote via telephone or the Internet or vote in person at the 2025 Annual Meeting.
If your shares are held in "street name" (that is, held for your account by a bank, broker, trustee or other nominee) and you do not instruct your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee how to vote your shares, your shares may be voted by such nominee with respect to the discretionary proposal (i.e., ratification of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm); however, many banks, brokers, trustees and other nominees do not vote on discretionary items if voting instructions from the beneficial owner have not been received. If you are a beneficial owner and you do not provide voting instructions on non-discretionaryproposals to your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee holding shares for you, your shares will not be voted with respect to those proposals. Without your voting instructions, a broker non-votewill occur with respect to your shares on each non-discretionaryproposal for which you have not provided voting instructions, if the shares are voted on any other proposal. We strongly encourage you to authorize your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee to vote your shares by following the instructions provided on the voting instruction form.
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YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT. To assure that your shares are represented at the 2025 Annual Meeting, we urge you to mark, sign, date and retuthe enclosed proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided, or vote by telephone or the Internet as instructed on the proxy card, whether or not you plan to attend the 2025 Annual Meeting. You can revoke your proxy at any time before the proxies you appointed cast your votes if you follow the procedures described under the question "Can I revoke my proxy or change my voting instructions after I deliver my proxy or voting instructions?" below. If your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee is the holder of record of your shares (i.e., your shares are held in "street name"), you will receive voting instructions from such holder of record. You must follow those instructions in order for your shares to be voted. Your broker is required to vote those shares in accordance with your instructions.
What vote is required, and how will my votes be counted, to elect the directors and to approve each of the other proposals discussed in this Proxy Statement?
|
Proposal |
Voting Options |
Vote Required to Adopt the |
Effect of |
Effect of Broker |
||||
|
No. 1: Election of two Class III directors |
For or withhold on each director nominee | Plurality of shares voted | N/A | No effect | ||||
|
No. 2: Approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers |
For, against or abstain | Affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the shares of Common Stock present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote | Treated as votes against | No effect | ||||
|
No. 3: Approval, on an advisory basis, of the frequency of future advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers |
1 year, 2 years, 3 years or abstain | Affirmative vote of a majority of the shares of common stock present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote* | Treated as votes against | No effect | ||||
|
No. 4: Ratification, on an advisory basis, of the appointment of our independent registered public accounting firm |
For, against or abstain | Affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the shares of Common Stock present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote | Treated as votes against | N/A** | ||||
| * |
Because this advisory vote has three possible frequency voting options, if none of the frequency options receives the vote of holders of a majority of the shares of common stock present in person or represented by proxy and entitled to vote, the option receiving the greatest number of votes will be considered the frequency recommended by our stockholders. |
| ** |
Because this proposal is considered a discretionary proposal, banks, brokers, trustees and other nominees may vote our stockholders' shares on this proposal without their instructions. Accordingly, there will be no broker non-voteswith respect to this proposal. |
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Our directors are elected by a plurality of shares of our Common Stock voted. This means that the candidates receiving the highest number of "FOR" votes will be elected. A properly executed card marked "WITHHOLD" with respect to the election of a director nominee will be counted for purposes of determining whether there is a quorum at the 2025 Annual Meeting, but will not be considered to have been voted for the director nominee. Under our By-Laws,all other matters require the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares of our Common Stock present in person or by represented proxy and entitled to vote, except as otherwise provided by statute, our Charter or our By-Laws.
Can I revoke my proxy or change my voting instructions after I deliver my proxy or voting instructions?
Yes. If your shares are registered in your name, your proxy can be revoked or changed at any time before it is used to vote your shares of our Common Stock if you: (1) deliver notice in writing to our corporate secretary before the 2025 Annual Meeting; (2) timely provide to us another proxy with a later date; or (3) are present at the 2025 Annual Meeting and either vote in person or notify the corporate secretary in writing at the 2025 Annual Meeting of your wish to revoke your proxy. Your attendance alone at the 2025 Annual Meeting will not be enough to revoke your proxy.
If your shares are held in "street name," your proxy or voting instructions can be revoked or changed at any time before used to vote your shares of our Common Stock if you: (1) in accordance with the voting instructions from your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee, timely provide to your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee another proxy or voting instructions with a later date; or (2) are present at the 2025 Annual Meeting and either vote in person or notify the corporate secretary in writing at the 2025 Annual Meeting of your wish to revoke your proxy. Your attendance alone at the 2025 Annual Meeting will not be enough to revoke your proxy. If you hold your shares in "street name" and wish to attend the 2025 Annual Meeting and vote in person, you must provide a "legal proxy" from your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee and proof of ownership on the record date (such as a recent brokerage statement) or the voting instruction form mailed to you by your bank, broker, trustee or other nominee.
How will we solicit proxies and who pays for soliciting proxies?
Could other matters be considered and voted upon at the 2025 Annual Meeting?
Our Board does not expect to bring any other matter, other than the matters described in this Proxy Statement, before the 2025 Annual Meeting, and it is not aware of any other matter that may be considered at the 2025 Annual Meeting. In addition, pursuant to our By-Laws,the time has elapsed for any stockholder to properly bring a matter before the 2025 Annual Meeting. However, if any other matter does properly come before the 2025 Annual Meeting, each of the proxy holders will vote any shares of our Common Stock, for which he holds a proxy to vote at the 2025 Annual Meeting, in his discretion.
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What happens if the 2025 Annual Meeting is postponed or adjourned?
Unless a new record date is fixed, your proxy will still be valid and may be used to vote shares of our Common Stock at the postponed or adjourned 2025 Annual Meeting. You will still be able to change or revoke your proxy until it is used to vote your shares if you follow the procedures described under the question "Can I revoke my proxy or change my voting instructions after I deliver my proxy or voting instructions?" above.
Where can I find the voting results of the 2025 Annual Meeting?
We will report the voting results of the 2025 Annual Meeting in a Current Report on Form 8-Kfiled with the
2026 Stockholder Proposals
If you would like us to consider including a proposal in next year's proxy statement, you must comply with the requirements of the
If you would like to present a proposal at the next annual meeting of stockholders but do not wish to have it included in our proxy statement, you must submit it in writing to our corporate secretary, at the above address, by no later than the close of business January 23, 2026 and no earlier than the close of business on October 15, 2025, in accordance with the specific procedural requirements in our By-Laws.If the date of next year's annual meeting of stockholders is moved to a date more than 30 days before or 90 days after the anniversary of this year's annual meeting of stockholders, the proposal must be received no earlier than the close of business on the 120th day prior to such annual meeting and no later than the close of business on the later of the 90th day prior to such annual meeting or the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the date of such meeting is first made. Failure to comply with the procedures and deadlines in our By-Lawsmay preclude the presentation of your proposal at our 2026 annual meeting of stockholders.
If you would like a copy of the requirements or procedures described above, please contact our corporate secretary as provided above, or access our By-Lawson our website at stratusproperties.comunder Investors-Corporate Governance.
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ANNEX A
METHODOLOGY USED TO CALCULATE CERTAIN AIP METRICS
Reconciliation of GAAP Revenue and Cost of Sales for Leasing Operations to AIP NOI of Leasing Properties Stabilized Prior to 2024
For the Year Ended December 31, 2024 (in thousands)
| Revenue | Expenses | NOI | ||||||||||
|
GAAP Leasing Operations revenue and cost of sales excluding depreciation per consolidated financial statements |
$ | 19,296 | $7,470 | |||||||||
|
Less: |
||||||||||||
|
Leasing Operations revenue and expenses from other than stabilized properties |
(4,364 | ) | (2,995 | ) | ||||||||
|
Lease accounting GAAP adjustments |
103 | 227 | ||||||||||
|
Amortization of leasing costs |
25 | (438 | ) | |||||||||
|
Adjustments to annualize revenue and expenses for |
357 | 123 | ||||||||||
|
Other |
15 | |||||||||||
|
NOI of Leasing Properties Stabilized Prior to 2024 |
$ | 15,417 | $4,402 | $ | 11,015 | |||||||
Reconciliation of GAAP G&A to AIP Cash G&A
For the Year Ended December 31, 2024 (in thousands)
|
GAAP general and administrative expenses per consolidated financial statements |
$ | 14,953 | ||
|
Less: |
||||
|
Non-cashcompensation expense associated with stock-based and Profit Plan/LTIP awards |
(2,293 | ) | ||
|
Approved annual incentive awards |
(1,441 | ) | ||
|
Adjustment for approved profit sharing contribution |
||||
|
Cash G&A |
$ | 11,219 | ||
Reconciliation of GAAP Cash and Cash Equivalents to AIP Liquidity
As of December 31, 2024 (in thousands)
|
GAAP cash and cash equivalents per consolidated financial statements |
$ | 20,178 | ||
|
Less cash and cash equivalents of consolidated limited partnerships |
(11,096 | ) | ||
|
Add availability under the |
39,018 | |||
|
Add duplication between letters of credit and financing in place to fund related costs |
6,631 | |||
|
Liquidity |
$ | 54,731 | ||
A-1
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| Your vote matters - here's how to vote! | ||||||
| You may vote online or by phone instead of mailing this card. | ||||||
|
Proxies (whether submitted online, by phone, or by mail) must be received by 11:59 p.m. (Central Time), on May 12, 2025. |
||||||
| Online | ||||||
|
Go to www.investorvote.com/STRSor scan the QR code - login details are located in the shaded bar below. |
||||||
|
Phone Call toll free 1-800-652-VOTE(8683) within the |
||||||
|
Using a black ink pen, mark your votes with an X as shown in this example. Please do not write outside the designated areas. |
Mark, sign, date and retuthe bottom portion in the enclosed envelope. |
|||||
| 2025 Annual Meeting Proxy Card |
IF VOTING BY MAIL, MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.
|
A |
Proposals - The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR each director nominee in Proposal 1, FOR Proposals 2 and 4, and 1 YEAR on Proposal 3. |
| 1. Election of two Class III Directors: | ||||||||||||||||||
|
For |
Withhold |
1 Year |
2 Years |
3 Years |
Abstain |
|||||||||||||
|
01 - William H. Armstrong III |
3. Approval, on an advisory basis, of the frequency of future advisory votes on the compensation of our named executive officers. |
|||||||||||||||||
| 02 - |
||||||||||||||||||
|
For |
Against |
Abstain |
For |
Against |
Abstain |
|||||||||||||
|
2. Approval, on an advisory basis, of the compensation of our named executive officers. |
4. Ratification, on an advisory basis, of the appointment of |
|
B |
Authorized Signatures - This section must be completed for your vote to count. Please date and sign below. |
|
Please sign exactly as name(s) appears hereon. Joint owners should each sign. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, corporate officer, trustee, guardian, or custodian, please give full title. |
||||
|
Date (mm/dd/yyyy) - Please print date below. |
Signature 1 - Please keep signature within the box. |
Signature 2 - Please keep signature within the box. |
||
|
1 U P X |
||||
|
044FBC |
||||
Table of Contents
2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
May 13, 2025 8:30 a.m., Central Time
212
Suite 300
Upon arrival, please present this admission ticket and photo identification at the registration desk.
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE 2025 ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS.
The material is available at: www.edocumentview.com/STRS
|
Small steps make an impact. Help the environment by consenting to receive electronic delivery, sign up at www.investorvote.com/STRS |
IF VOTING BY MAIL, MARK, SIGN, DATE AND RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.
| Stratus Properties Inc. | ||
Notice of 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
This Proxy is Solicited by the Board of Directors for the 2025 Annual Meeting to be Held on May 13, 2025
The undersigned hereby appoints William H. Armstrong III and
You can obtain directions to the annual meeting by contacting
This proxy, when properly executed and returned, will be voted in the manner directed herein by the undersigned stockholder, or if no direction is made, will be voted FOR each director nominee in Proposal 1 and FOR Proposals 2 and 4, and 1 YEAR on Proposal 3. Whether or not direction is made, this proxy, when properly executed, will be voted in the discretion of the proxy holders for any other matter properly coming before the annual meeting, including any adjournment or postponement thereof.
If you wish your shares to be voted on all matters as the Board of Directors recommends, simply sign, date and retuthis proxy card. If you wish your shares to be voted as you specify on a matter or all matters, please also mark the appropriate box or boxes on the back of this proxy card.
(Items to be voted appear on reverse side)
|
C |
Non-VotingItems |
|
Change of Address-Please print new address below. |
Comments-Please print your comments below. |
|
Attachments
Disclaimer



Proxy Statement (Form DEF 14A)
Q&A: Worried about your 401k, investments after Trump's tariffs? Here's some expert advice
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