Investment in Real Estate - Operating Property (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Land and land improvements	$ 73,239	$ 73,161
Buildings and building improvements	133,678	133,399
Timber	10,203	9,856
Operating property	217,120	216,416
Less: Accumulated depreciation	67,349	64,069
Net operating property	149,771	152,347
Depletion	$ 500	$ 500	$ 500
Land and land improvements \| Minimum
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Life (in years)	5 years
Land and land improvements \| Maximum
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Life (in years)	20 years
Buildings and building improvements \| Minimum
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Life (in years)	20 years
Buildings and building improvements \| Maximum
Real Estate Properties [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Life (in years)	40 years

Income-Producing Depreciable Operating Property

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- Definition

joe_Income Producing Depreciable Operating Property, Net of Accumulated Depreciation

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

The noncash expense charged against earnings to recognize the consumption of natural resources.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66902209&loc=d3e3602-108585

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- Definition

Aggregate of the carrying amounts as of the balance sheet date of investments in building and building improvements.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.1(d))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

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- Definition

Amount before accumulated deprecation and depletion of real estate held for productive use and additions or improvements to real estate held for productive use, examples include, but are not limited to, walkways, driveways, fences, and parking lots. Excludes land held for sale.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 4
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=28358313&loc=d3e6812-107765

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

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- Definition

Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

The cumulative amount of depreciation for real estate property held for investment purposes.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.1(3))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount before accumulated depreciation and depletion of forest crops and land devoted primarily to the growth and harvest of forest crops for commercial purposes.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391035&loc=d3e2868-110229

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