Investments in Real Estate Partnerships - Schedule of Investments in Real Estate Partnerships (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended										12 Months Ended																			3 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2009	Sep. 01, 2010	Jun. 02, 2010	Apr. 30, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011 Other Income [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Other Income [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 Other Income [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Transaction Fee Income [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Transaction Fee Income [Member]	Dec. 31, 2009 Transaction Fee Income [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 GRI - Regency, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 GRI - Regency, LLC [Member]	May 01, 2010 GRI - Regency, LLC [Member]	Apr. 30, 2010 GRI - Regency, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Macquarie Country Wide - Regency III, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Macquarie Country Wide - Regency III, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Macquarie Countrywide Regency - DESCO LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Macquarie Countrywide Regency - DESCO LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Columbia Regency Retail Partners, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Columbia Regency Retail Partners, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Columbia Regency Partners II, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Columbia Regency Partners II, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Cameron Village, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Cameron Village, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 RegCal, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 RegCal, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Regency Retail Partners, LP [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Regency Retail Partners, LP [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 US Regency Retail I, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 US Regency Retail I, LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Other investments in real estate partnerships [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Other investments in real estate partnerships [Member]	Apr. 30, 2011 Other investments in real estate partnerships [Member]	Jun. 30, 2010 Equity Method Investments [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Equity Method Investments [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Equity Method Investments [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Other expense (income)	$ 2,600,000	$ 776,000	$ (383,000)	$ 72,000
Ownership Percentage														40.00%	40.00%	60.00%	15.00%	24.95%	24.95%	0.00%	16.35%	20.00%	20.00%	20.00%	20.00%	30.00%	30.00%	25.00%	25.00%	20.00%	20.00%	20.01%	20.01%	50.00%	50.00%	50.00%
Investments in real estate partnerships		386,882,000	428,592,000											262,018,000	277,235,000			195,000	63,000	0	20,050,000	20,335,000	20,025,000	9,686,000	9,815,000	17,110,000	17,604,000	18,128,000	15,340,000	16,430,000	17,478,000	3,093,000	3,941,000	39,887,000	47,041,000
Total Assets of the Partnership		3,501,775,000	3,983,122,000											2,001,526,000	2,077,240,000			61,867,000	63,575,000	0	366,766,000	259,225,000	277,859,000	317,720,000	302,394,000	104,314,000	105,953,000	180,490,000	183,507,000	333,013,000	341,109,000	127,763,000	134,294,000	115,857,000	130,425,000
Net Income (Loss) of the Partnership		45,260,000	(51,763,000)	(106,176,000)										18,244,000	(15,113,000)			(493,000)	(432,000)	(1,752,000)	(4,913,000)	14,554,000	(14,922,000)	910,000	(330,000)	1,101,000	(708,000)	7,615,000	858,000	265,000	(18,942,000)	1,215,000	(441,000)	3,601,000	3,180,000
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments		9,643,000	(12,884,000)	(26,373,000)										7,266,000	(6,672,000)			(123,000)	(108,000)	(293,000)	(819,000)	2,775,000	(2,970,000)	179,000	(69,000)	322,000	(221,000)	1,904,000	194,000	268,000	(3,565,000)	243,000	(88,000)	(2,898,000)	1,434,000
Equity Method Investment, Summarized Financial Information, Revenue		399,091,000	437,029,000	434,050,000				29,000,000	25,100,000	29,100,000	5,000,000	2,600,000	7,800,000
Equity Method Investment, Summarized Financial Information, Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount (Premium), Net		(4,236,000)			47,200,000	202,000,000	514,800,000
Repayments of Long-term Debt																																					206,700,000
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt																																					79,600,000
Notes payable																																						610,400,000	663,100,000
Guarantor Obligations, Current Carrying Value																																							$ 8,800,000