MORTGAGES, NOTES AND LOANS PAYABLE (Details 2) (USD $)	3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended																						3 Months Ended											0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			0 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2013 Development Loan	Mar. 31, 2013 Special Improvement District bonds	Dec. 31, 2012 Special Improvement District bonds	Mar. 31, 2013 110 N. Wacker	Dec. 31, 2012 110 N. Wacker	Aug. 15, 2012 70 Columbia Corporate Center	Mar. 31, 2013 70 Columbia Corporate Center	Dec. 31, 2012 70 Columbia Corporate Center	Mar. 31, 2013 Columbia Regional Building item	Mar. 15, 2013 Columbia Regional Building	Mar. 31, 2013 Other Financing Arrangements	Dec. 31, 2012 Other Financing Arrangements	Mar. 31, 2013 Bridgeland	Dec. 31, 2012 Bridgeland	Mar. 31, 2013 Bridgeland Minimum	Mar. 31, 2013 Bridgeland Land Loan	Dec. 31, 2012 Bridgeland Land Loan	Mar. 31, 2013 Bridgeland Development Loan	Dec. 31, 2012 Bridgeland Development Loan	Mar. 31, 2013 Summerlin South S108	Dec. 31, 2012 Summerlin South S108	Mar. 31, 2013 Summerlin South S124	Dec. 31, 2012 Summerlin South S124	Mar. 31, 2013 Summerlin South S128	Dec. 31, 2012 Summerlin South S128	Mar. 31, 2013 Summerlin South S128C	Dec. 31, 2012 Summerlin South S128C	Mar. 31, 2013 Summerlin South S132	Dec. 31, 2012 Summerlin South S132	Mar. 31, 2013 Summerlin South S151	Dec. 31, 2012 Summerlin South S151	Mar. 31, 2013 Summerlin South S810	Dec. 31, 2012 Summerlin South S810	Mar. 31, 2013 The Shops at Summerlin Centre S108	Dec. 31, 2012 The Shops at Summerlin Centre S108	Mar. 31, 2013 The Shops at Summerlin Centre S128	Dec. 31, 2012 The Shops at Summerlin Centre S128	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands	Dec. 31, 2012 The Woodlands	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands TWL Facility	Dec. 31, 2012 The Woodlands TWL Facility	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands TWL Facility Maximum	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands TWL Facility March 29, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands TWL Facility June 29, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands TWL Facility September 29, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands TWL Facility December 29, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands Term loan	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands Revolving credit line	Mar. 31, 2013 The Woodlands Capital lease obligation	Dec. 31, 2012 The Woodlands Capital lease obligation	Feb. 08, 2013 Resort and Conference Center	Mar. 31, 2013 Resort and Conference Center item acre	Dec. 31, 2012 Resort and Conference Center item	Dec. 31, 2011 4 Waterway	Mar. 31, 2013 4 Waterway	Dec. 31, 2012 4 Waterway	Dec. 31, 2011 9303 New Trails	Mar. 31, 2013 9303 New Trails	Dec. 31, 2012 9303 New Trails	Feb. 02, 2012 3 Waterway Square item sqft	Mar. 31, 2013 3 Waterway Square item	Dec. 31, 2012 3 Waterway Square	Mar. 31, 2013 One Hughes Landing item	Dec. 31, 2012 One Hughes Landing	Nov. 14, 2012 One Hughes Landing item sqft	Apr. 26, 2012 20/25 Waterway	Mar. 31, 2013 20/25 Waterway	Dec. 31, 2012 20/25 Waterway	May 31, 2012 Millennium Waterway Apartments	Mar. 31, 2013 Millennium Waterway Apartments	Dec. 31, 2012 Millennium Waterway Apartments	Sep. 30, 2011 Ward Centers	Mar. 31, 2013 Ward Centers	Dec. 31, 2012 Ward Centers	Sep. 17, 2012 Ward Centers	Mar. 31, 2013 Ward Centers Minimum	Mar. 31, 2013 Ward Centers Maximum
Mortgages, notes and loans payable
Interest rate (as a percent)						5.21%	5.21%		4.25%	4.25%	3.25%							5.50%	5.50%	5.00%	5.00%	5.95%	5.95%	5.95%	5.95%	7.30%	7.30%	6.05%	6.05%	6.00%	6.00%	6.00%	6.00%	7.13%	7.13%	5.95%	5.95%	6.05%	6.05%			5.00%	5.00%								3.31%	3.31%		3.70%	3.70%		4.88%	4.88%		4.88%	4.88%		2.85%	2.85%	2.85%	2.85%			4.79%	4.79%		3.75%	3.75%		3.39%	3.39%
Land, buildings and equipment and developments in progress pledged as collateral	$ 1,500,000,000
Maximum Facility Amount			140,000,000								23,008,000	23,000,000								30,000,000																						270,000,000							170,000,000	100,000,000				95,000,000			41,000,000			14,000,000			43,295,000		38,000,000				14,450,000			55,600,000			250,000,000		250,000,000
Total mortgages, notes and loans payable	696,761,000	688,312,000		46,257,000	49,712,000	29,000,000	29,000,000		16,037,000	16,037,000	212,000		897,000	612,000	23,029,000	18,066,000		18,066,000	18,066,000	4,963,000		1,067,000	1,067,000	324,000	324,000	787,000	787,000	5,739,000	5,739,000	4,757,000	4,822,000	7,419,000	10,501,000	21,877,000	22,185,000	586,000	586,000	3,701,000	3,701,000	352,329,000	345,885,000	176,663,000	176,704,000								26,000	41,000		36,100,000	36,100,000		39,919,000	40,140,000		13,631,000	13,706,000		15,946,000	9,150,000	10,000	10,000			14,450,000	14,450,000	55,600,000	55,584,000	55,584,000		229,000,000	229,000,000
Variable rate basis	LIBOR					one-month LIBOR					LIBOR							three-month LIBOR		LIBOR																						one-month LIBOR												one-month LIBOR									one-month LIBOR		one-month LIBOR										one-month LIBOR
Variable rate basis below specified limit											prime rate
Variable rate basis above specified limit											LIBOR
Interest rate margin (as a percent)	2.65%					2.25%					2.00%							2.75%		3.25%																						4.00%												3.50%									2.65%		2.65%										2.50%
Interest rate margin above specified limit (as a percent)											2.00%
Outstanding principal balance of debt that is swapped to fixed rate through maturity						29,000,000																																																																							143,000,000
Specified limit of draws											500,000
Fixed interest rate per swap (as a percent)						5.21%																																																																							3.80%
Term of debt instrument																																																																							10 years
Period for which interest rate is fixed																		5 years
Period for which interest rate is floating																		5 years
Fixed interest rate (as a percent)									4.25%									5.50%																																																		4.79%				3.75%
Interest rate (as a percent)																				5.00%																						5.00%
Amount of borrowings								16,000,000												31,400,000																																				41,000,000			14,000,000			43,300,000												250,000,000
Lender participation right (as a percent)									30.00%
Percentage of cumulative preferred return on the property									10.00%
Increase in value of the participation obligation									2,600,000
Monthly principal and interest payment required																																																																								257,418
Annual principal payments as a percentage of outstanding principal balance																		5.00%
Non-recourse mortgage assumed																																																																								55,600,000
Proceeds from the loan																																																																				13,600,000
Number of stories of building to be constructed with loan proceeds																																																														11					8
Area of office building to be constructed using proceeds from loan																																																														232,000					195,000
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)	4.30%	4.49%																																																																									3.39%
Corporate recourse guarantee amount						7,000,000
Extension period at borrower's option											1 year																															1 year												1 year									1 year		1 year
Percentage of loan to value ratio at which debt will not be amortized on dollar for dollar basis for distributions made from The Woodlands																																												40.00%
Leverage expressed as loan to value ratio (as a percent)																																										25.00%
Undrawn and available borrowing capacity																																										58,300,000
Amount of future required repayments																																													30,000,000	10,000,000	10,000,000	10,000,000
Amount of loan repaid from proceeds of a non-recourse construction financing to redevelop the property																																																					95,000,000
Number of extension options											2																																												3								2		2
Option to extend, term																																																						1 year
Number of rooms in property securing debt (in rooms)																																																						440
Area of land securing debt (in acres)																																																						40
Loan to value ratio to draw additional loan proceeds (as a percent)																																																																															65.00%
Percentage of debt yield to draw additional loan proceeds																																																																														10.00%
Unused portion of the debt instrument																																																																											21,000,000
Cash balance required to be maintained																	3,000,000
Net worth required to be maintained																	250,000,000
Debt outstanding balance															$ 0
Period of real estate taxes and debt service required to be escrowed with the lender															1 year