Investment in Unconsolidated Joint Ventures (EP I LLC) (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended					1 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Jun. 28, 2011 EP I LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 EP I LLC [Member] Loan	Oct. 31, 2013 EP II LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 EP II LLC [Member] Loan	Dec. 31, 2013 Cousins Watkins LLC [Member] Loan	Dec. 31, 2013 LIBOR [Member] EP I LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 LIBOR [Member] EP II LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 LIBOR [Member] Cousins Watkins LLC [Member]	Jun. 28, 2011 Gables Realty Limited [Member] EP I LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Gables Realty Limited [Member] EP I LLC [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Gables Realty Limited [Member] EP II LLC [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Gables Realty Limited [Member] EP II LLC [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Number of possible loan extensions		4		2	2
Period of loan extension		1 year		1 year	1 year
Equity Method Investment, Ownership Percentage		75.00%		75.00%	50.50%					25.00%		25.00%
Approximate cash contribution of Company in joint venture	$ 8,100,000		$ 5,600,000						$ 3,800,000		$ 2,300,000
Transfer from predevelopment assets to investment in joint venture	6,200,000		1,300,000
Maximum amount available under construction facility, revised		61,100,000		46,000,000
Outstanding balance of mortgage loan		57,100,000		1,000
Variable rate basis						LIBOR	LIBOR	LIBOR
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate		1.75%		1.85%
Maturity date of mortgage loans		Oct. 09, 2014		Oct. 09, 2016	Jan. 01, 2016
Extension of mortgage loans maturity, conditions		four, one-year periods if certain conditions are met		two, one-year periods if certain conditions are met	two, one-year terms, provided certain conditions are met
Approximate amount of loans guaranteed by Company		4,300,000		8,600,000						1,400,000		2,900,000
Cash balance of joint venture		$ 943,000		$ 0	$ 948,000