Investment in Unconsolidated Joint Ventures (Narrative) (Details) $ in Millions	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($) property joint_venture	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Number of properties \| property	140
Amortization expense, present value of future insurance profits \| $	$ 0.9	$ 1.0
2001 Sixth Avenue, 2020 Fifth Avenue, 33 Chun Choi Street
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Number of joint ventures \| joint_venture	3
2001 Sixth Avenue
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in joint ventures	50.00%
2020 Fifth Avenue
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in joint ventures	50.00%
33 Chun Choi Street Hong Kong
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in joint ventures	50.00%
Prudential Real Estate Investors and Griffin Capital Essential Asset REIT, Inc.
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Number of joint ventures \| joint_venture	2
PREI
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in joint ventures	20.00%
Number of joint ventures \| joint_venture	1
Number of properties \| property	10
GCEAR
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in joint ventures	20.00%
Number of properties \| property	1

Equity Method Investment, Difference Between Carrying Amount and Underlying Equity, Amortization

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+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 323
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (a)(1)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=66011266&loc=d3e33918-111571

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