Organization	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Organization	Organization On October 10, 2013, Columbia Property Trust, Inc. ("Columbia Property Trust") listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") under the ticker symbol "CXP." Columbia Property Trust is a Maryland corporation that operates in a manner as to qualify as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") for federal income tax purposes and engages in the acquisition and ownership of commercial real estate properties, including properties that have operating histories, are newly constructed, or are under construction. Columbia Property Trust was incorporated in 2003, commenced operations in 2004, and conducts business primarily through Columbia Property Trust Operating Partnership, L.P. ("Columbia Property Trust OP"), a Delaware limited partnership. Columbia Property Trust is the general partner and sole owner of Columbia Property Trust OP and possesses full legal control and authority over its operations. Columbia Property Trust OP acquires, develops, owns, leases, and operates real properties directly, through wholly owned subsidiaries, or through joint ventures. References to Columbia Property Trust, "we," "us," or "our" herein shall include Columbia Property Trust and all subsidiaries of Columbia Property Trust, direct and indirect, and consolidated joint ventures. Columbia Property Trust typically invests in high-quality, income-generating office properties leased to creditworthy companies and governmental entities. As of September 30, 2013, Columbia Property Trust owned controlling interests in 60 office properties and one hotel, which includes 82 operational buildings. These properties are comprised of approximately 20.8 million square feet of commercial space and are located in 19 states and the District of Columbia. As of September 30, 2013, 59 of the office properties were wholly owned and the remaining property was owned through a consolidated subsidiary; the office properties were approximately 93.2% leased. On November 5, 2013, Columbia Property Trust closed on a sale of 18 of its office properties. The terms of the sale are described in Note 12, Subsequent Events. From inception through February 27, 2013, Columbia Property Trust operated as an externally advised REIT pursuant to an advisory agreement under which a subsidiary of Wells Real Estate Funds ("WREF"), Columbia Property Trust Advisory Services, LLC ("Columbia Property Trust Advisory Services"), performed certain key functions on behalf of Columbia Property Trust, including, among others, managing the day-to-day operations, investing capital proceeds, and arranging financings. Also during this period of time, a subsidiary of WREF, Columbia Property Trust Services, LLC ("Columbia Property Trust Services"), provided the personnel necessary to carry out property management services on behalf of Wells Management Company, Inc. ("Wells Management") and its affiliates pursuant to a property management agreement. The advisory agreement and property management agreement are described in Note 9, Related-Party Transactions and Agreements. On February 28, 2013, Columbia Property Trust became a self-managed company by terminating the above-mentioned advisory agreement and property management agreement, and acquiring Columbia Property Trust Advisory Services and Columbia Property Trust Services. As a result, the contractual services described above are now performed by employees of Columbia Property Trust (except for certain investor services). Contemporaneous with this transaction, Columbia Property Trust entered into a consulting agreement and an investor services agreement with WREF for the remainder of 2013. While no fees were paid to execute these acquisitions, Columbia Property Trust will pay fees to WREF for consulting and investor services for the remainder of 2013. For additional details about this transaction and the related agreements, please refer to Note 9, Related-Party Transactions and Agreements.

Organization

On October 10, 2013, Columbia Property Trust, Inc. ("Columbia Property Trust") listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") under the ticker symbol "CXP." Columbia Property Trust is a Maryland corporation that operates in a manner as to qualify as a real estate investment trust ("REIT") for federal income tax purposes and engages in the acquisition and ownership of commercial real estate properties, including properties that have operating histories, are newly constructed, or are under construction. Columbia Property Trust was incorporated in 2003, commenced operations in 2004, and conducts business primarily through Columbia Property Trust Operating Partnership, L.P. ("Columbia Property Trust OP"), a Delaware limited partnership. Columbia Property Trust is the general partner and sole owner of Columbia Property Trust OP and possesses full legal control and authority over its operations. Columbia Property Trust OP acquires, develops, owns, leases, and operates real properties directly, through wholly owned subsidiaries, or through joint ventures. References to Columbia Property Trust, "we," "us," or "our" herein shall include Columbia Property Trust and all subsidiaries of Columbia Property Trust, direct and indirect, and consolidated joint ventures.

Columbia Property Trust typically invests in high-quality, income-generating office properties leased to creditworthy companies and governmental entities. As of September 30, 2013, Columbia Property Trust owned controlling interests in 60 office properties and one hotel, which includes 82 operational buildings. These properties are comprised of approximately 20.8 million square feet of commercial space and are located in 19 states and the District of Columbia. As of September 30, 2013, 59 of the office properties were wholly owned and the remaining property was owned through a consolidated subsidiary; the office properties were approximately 93.2% leased. On November 5, 2013, Columbia Property Trust closed on a sale of 18 of its office properties. The terms of the sale are described in Note 12, Subsequent Events.

From inception through February 27, 2013, Columbia Property Trust operated as an externally advised REIT pursuant to an advisory agreement under which a subsidiary of Wells Real Estate Funds ("WREF"), Columbia Property Trust Advisory Services, LLC ("Columbia Property Trust Advisory Services"), performed certain key functions on behalf of Columbia Property Trust, including, among others, managing the day-to-day operations, investing capital proceeds, and arranging financings. Also during this period of time, a subsidiary of WREF, Columbia Property Trust Services, LLC ("Columbia Property Trust Services"), provided the personnel necessary to carry out property management services on behalf of Wells Management Company, Inc. ("Wells Management") and its affiliates pursuant to a property management agreement. The advisory agreement and property management agreement are described in Note 9, Related-Party Transactions and Agreements.

On February 28, 2013, Columbia Property Trust became a self-managed company by terminating the above-mentioned advisory agreement and property management agreement, and acquiring Columbia Property Trust Advisory Services and Columbia Property Trust Services. As a result, the contractual services described above are now performed by employees of Columbia Property Trust (except for certain investor services). Contemporaneous with this transaction, Columbia Property Trust entered into a consulting agreement and an investor services agreement with WREF for the remainder of 2013. While no fees were paid to execute these acquisitions, Columbia Property Trust will pay fees to WREF for consulting and investor services for the remainder of 2013. For additional details about this transaction and the related agreements, please refer to Note 9, Related-Party Transactions and Agreements.