Business and Organization	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Business [Abstract]
Nature Of Operations [Text Block]	Note 1. Organization and Offering Organization Corporate Property Associates 17 – Global Incorporated (“CPA®:17 – Global” and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries and predecessors, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a publicly owned, non-listed real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that invests primarily in commercial properties leased to companies domestically and internationally. As a REIT, we are not subject to United States (“U.S.”) federal income taxation as long as we satisfy certain requirements, principally relating to the nature of our income, the level of our distributions and other factors. We earn revenue principally by leasing the properties we own to single corporate tenants, primarily on a triple-net lease basis, which requires the tenant to pay substantially all of the costs associated with operating and maintaining the property. Revenue is subject to fluctuation because of the timing of new lease transactions, lease terminations, lease expirations, contractual rent adjustments, tenant defaults and sales of properties. At September 30, 2011, our portfolio was comprised of our full or partial ownership interests in 301 fully-occupied properties, substantially all of which were triple-net leased to 45 tenants, and totaled approximately 25 million square feet (on a pro rata basis). In addition, we own 35 self-storage properties and retain a fee interest in a hotel property for an aggregate of approximately 3 million square feet (on a pro rata basis). We were formed in 2007 and are managed by W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (“WPC”) and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “advisor”). Public Offering In November 2007, our registration statement on Form S-11 (File No. 333-140842), covering an initial public offering of up to 200,000,000 shares of common stock at $10.00 per share, was declared effective by the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The registration statement also covered the offering of up to 50,000,000 shares of common stock at $9.50 pursuant to our distribution reinvestment and stock purchase plan. Our shares were initially being offered on a “best efforts” basis by Carey Financial and selected other dealers. We commenced our initial public offering in late December 2007. Since inception through the termination of our initial public offering on April 7, 2011, we raised a total of more than $1.5 billion. In October 2010, we filed a registration statement on Form S-11 (File No. 333-170225) with the SEC for a continuous public offering of up to $1.0 billion of common stock, which was declared effective by the SEC on April 7, 2011, terminating our initial public offering. The registration statement also covers the offering of up to 50,000,000 shares of common stock at $9.50 pursuant to our distribution reinvestment and stock purchase plan. We refer to the continuous public offering as the “follow-on offering.” From the beginning of the follow-on offering on May 2, 2011 through September 30, 2011, we raised $279.3 million. There can be no assurance that we will successfully sell the full number of shares registered. We intend to use the net proceeds of these offerings to acquire, own and manage a portfolio of commercial properties leased to a diversified group of companies primarily on a single tenant net lease basis.

Business and Organization

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Note 1. Organization and Offering

Organization

Corporate Property Associates 17 – Global Incorporated (“CPA®:17 – Global” and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries and predecessors, “we”, “us” or “our”) is a publicly owned, non-listed real estate investment trust (“REIT”) that invests primarily in commercial properties leased to companies domestically and internationally. As a REIT, we are not subject to United States (“U.S.”) federal income taxation as long as we satisfy certain requirements, principally relating to the nature of our income, the level of our distributions and other factors. We earn revenue principally by leasing the properties we own to single corporate tenants, primarily on a triple-net lease basis, which requires the tenant to pay substantially all of the costs associated with operating and maintaining the property. Revenue is subject to fluctuation because of the timing of new lease transactions, lease terminations, lease expirations, contractual rent adjustments, tenant defaults and sales of properties. At September 30, 2011, our portfolio was comprised of our full or partial ownership interests in 301 fully-occupied properties, substantially all of which were triple-net leased to 45 tenants, and totaled approximately 25 million square feet (on a pro rata basis). In addition, we own 35 self-storage properties and retain a fee interest in a hotel property for an aggregate of approximately 3 million square feet (on a pro rata basis). We were formed in 2007 and are managed by W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (“WPC”) and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “advisor”).

Public Offering

In November 2007, our registration statement on Form S-11 (File No. 333-140842), covering an initial public offering of up to 200,000,000 shares of common stock at $10.00 per share, was declared effective by the SEC under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The registration statement also covered the offering of up to 50,000,000 shares of common stock at $9.50 pursuant to our distribution reinvestment and stock purchase plan. Our shares were initially being offered on a “best efforts” basis by Carey Financial and selected other dealers. We commenced our initial public offering in late December 2007. Since inception through the termination of our initial public offering on April 7, 2011, we raised a total of more than $1.5 billion.

In October 2010, we filed a registration statement on Form S-11 (File No. 333-170225) with the SEC for a continuous public offering of up to $1.0 billion of common stock, which was declared effective by the SEC on April 7, 2011, terminating our initial public offering. The registration statement also covers the offering of up to 50,000,000 shares of common stock at $9.50 pursuant to our distribution reinvestment and stock purchase plan. We refer to the continuous public offering as the “follow-on offering.” From the beginning of the follow-on offering on May 2, 2011 through September 30, 2011, we raised $279.3 million. There can be no assurance that we will successfully sell the full number of shares registered.

We intend to use the net proceeds of these offerings to acquire, own and manage a portfolio of commercial properties leased to a diversified group of companies primarily on a single tenant net lease basis.