Note 7 - Investment and Advances in Real Estate Joint Ventures (Details) - Joint Venture Investments Accounted for under the Equity Method - Investment Details ft² in Thousands		Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) ft²	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) ft²	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2012 USD ($)
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²	[1]	7,519	7,104
Gross Investment In Real Estate		$ 11,568,809,126	$ 10,018,225,775	$ 9,123,343,869	$ 8,947,286,646
KimPru and KimPru II [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Average Ownership Interest	[2],[3]	15.00%	15.00%
Number of Properties	[2],[3]	53	60
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²	[2],[3]	9,600	10,600
Gross Investment In Real Estate	[2],[3]	$ 2,531,600,000	$ 2,728,900,000
The Company's Investment	[2],[3]	$ 175,500,000	$ 178,600,000
Kimco Income Fund [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Average Ownership Interest	[2]	48.60%	48.60%
Number of Properties	[2]	47	54
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²	[2]	10,800	11,500
Gross Investment In Real Estate	[2]	$ 1,422,800,000	$ 1,488,200,000
The Company's Investment	[2]	$ 131,000,000	$ 152,100,000
Kimstone [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Average Ownership Interest	[2],[4]	33.30%	33.30%
Number of Properties	[2],[4]	0	39
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²	[2],[4]	0	5,600
Gross Investment In Real Estate	[2],[4]	$ 0	$ 1,098,700,000
The Company's Investment	[2],[4]	$ 0	$ 98,100,000
BIG Shopping Centers [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Average Ownership Interest	[2]	50.10%	50.10%
Number of Properties	[2]	1	6
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²	[2]	400	1,000
Gross Investment In Real Estate	[2]	$ 53,500,000	$ 151,600,000
The Company's Investment	[2]	$ 0
CPP [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Average Ownership Interest	[2],[5]	55.00%	55.00%
Number of Properties	[2],[5]	7	7
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²	[2],[5]	2,400	2,400
Gross Investment In Real Estate	[2],[5]	$ 524,100,000	$ 504,000,000
The Company's Investment	[2],[5]	$ 195,600,000	$ 188,900,000
Other Institutional Programs [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Average Ownership Interest	[2]
Number of Properties	[2]	8	53
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²	[2]	1,100	1,800
Gross Investment In Real Estate	[2]	$ 248,000,000	$ 413,800,000
The Company's Investment	[2]	$ 5,200,000	$ 11,000,000
RioCan [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Average Ownership Interest		50.00%	50.00%
Number of Properties		13	45
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²		2,400	9,300
Gross Investment In Real Estate		$ 259,300,000	$ 1,205,800,000
The Company's Investment		$ 53,300,000	$ 159,800,000
Latin America Portfolio [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Average Ownership Interest	[6]
Number of Properties	[6]	9	13
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²	[6]	0	100
Gross Investment In Real Estate	[6]	$ 53,200,000	$ 91,200,000
The Company's Investment	[6]	$ 15,000,000	$ 24,400,000
Other Joint Venture Programs [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Average Ownership Interest
Number of Properties		53	60
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²		8,700	9,500
Gross Investment In Real Estate		$ 1,165,600,000	$ 1,401,200,000
The Company's Investment		$ 167,000,000	$ 224,300,000
All Equity Method Investments [Member]
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Number of Properties		191	337
Total GLA (in Square Feet) | ft²		35,400	51,800
Gross Investment In Real Estate		$ 6,258,100,000	$ 9,083,400,000
The Company's Investment		$ 742,600,000	$ 1,037,200,000

[1] Gross leasable area ("GLA")

[2] The Company manages these joint venture investments and, where applicable, earns acquisition fees, leasing commissions, property management fees, asset management fees and construction management fees.

[3] This venture represents four separate joint ventures, with four separate accounts managed by Prudential Real Estate Investors ("PREI"), three of these ventures are collectively referred to as KimPru and the remaining venture is referred to as KimPru II.

[4] During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company purchased the remaining 66.7% interest in the 39-property Kimstone portfolio from Blackstone for a gross purchase price of $1.4 billion, including the assumption of $638.0 million in mortgage debt.

[5] During the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, CPP acquired land parcels for future development in Dania, FL, for $3.6 million and $62.8 million, respectively.

[6] Includes eight land parcels and one self-storage facility.