Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Tenant and other receivables, allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 1,197	$ 1,142
Accrued rental income, allowance	2,775	1,499
Unsecured senior notes, discount	$ 10,683	12,296
General Partners' Capital Account, Units Outstanding (in units)	1,715,092
Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units Outstanding (in units)	151,864,874
Unsecured exchangeable senior notes, discount	$ 0	$ 0
Excess stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Excess stock, shares authorized	150,000,000	150,000,000
Excess stock, shares issued	0	0
Excess stock, shares outstanding	0	0
Preferred stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized	50,000,000	50,000,000
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	250,000,000	250,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	153,658,866	153,192,845
Common stock, shares outstanding	153,579,966	153,113,945
Treasury common stock at cost, shares	78,900	78,900
Series B Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock / Unit [Member]
Preferred stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0
Preferred stock, shares authorized	92,000	92,000
Series B Dividend Rate Percentage	5.25%	5.25%
Preferred stock / units, shares / units issued (in shares / units)	80,000	80,000
Series B Liquidation Preference Per Share/ Unit	$ 2,500.00	$ 2,500
Preferred stock / units, shares / units outstanding (in shares / units)	80,000	80,000
Boston Properties Limited Partnership [Member]
Tenant and other receivables, allowance for doubtful accounts	$ 1,197	$ 1,142
Accrued rental income, allowance	2,775	1,499
Unsecured senior notes, discount	$ 10,683	$ 12,296
Redeemable Partnership Units Series Four Preferred Units Shares Outstanding ( in units)	0	12,667
Redeemable Partnership Units Common Units Shares Outstanding (in units)	16,097,473	16,453,670
Redeemable Partnership Units Common Units Long Term Incentive Units At Redemption Value Units Outstanding (in units)	1,831,714	1,496,799
General Partners' Capital Account, Units Outstanding (in units)	1,715,092	1,710,644
Limited Partners' Capital Account, Units Outstanding (in units)	151,864,874	151,403,301