Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Revenues (other than gains)	$ 112,551	$ 114,843	$ 126,905	$ 119,684	$ 126,381	$ 115,747	$ 110,460	$ 104,113	$ 473,983	$ 456,701	$ 291,579
Expenses	(98,788)	(101,717)	(115,439)	(107,407)	(133,253)	(106,275)	(103,390)	(94,160)	(423,351)	(437,078)	(285,091)
Operating income	13,763	13,126	11,466	12,277	(6,872)	9,472	7,070	9,953	50,632	19,623	6,488
Interest and other income	203	218	312	170	561	121	402	368	903	1,452	2,236
Equity in earnings (loss) of unconsolidated joint ventures	1,281	339	422	162	(184)	191	(496)	(478)	2,204	(967)	178
Gain on sale of in-substance real estate					0	0	0	6,289	0	6,289	0
Net gains on sale of real estate	3,819	47,351	45,246	14,316	69,714	6,664	0	0	110,732	76,378	0
Gain on sale of unconsolidated property	9,698	0	0	0					9,698	0	0
Gain (loss) on extinguishment of debt	(520)	(702)	(4,919)	79	(2,066)	0	(339)	0	(6,062)	(2,405)	0
Interest expense	(17,590)	(17,017)	(17,676)	(19,198)	(17,515)	(16,543)	(16,793)	(15,244)	(71,481)	(66,095)	(45,622)
Income tax (expense) benefit	(894)	(491)	(326)	(192)	624	(164)	(257)	(342)	(1,903)	(139)	1,405
Income (loss) from continuing operations					44,262	(259)	(10,413)	546	94,723	34,136	(35,315)
Discontinued operations:
Loss from discontinued operations					(9)	(289)	(50)	(43)	0	(391)	(9,215)
Gain on sale of real estate from discontinued operations					0	0	0	10,463	0	10,463	32,493
Total discontinued operations					(9)	(289)	(50)	10,420	0	10,072	23,278
Net income (loss)	9,760	42,824	34,525	7,614	44,253	(548)	(10,463)	10,966	94,723	44,208	(12,037)
Noncontrolling interests	(1,083)	(5,573)	(20,393)	(339)	(1,825)	63	618	(121)
Net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders	$ 8,677	$ 37,251	$ 14,132	$ 7,275	$ 42,428	$ (485)	$ (9,845)	$ 10,845	$ 67,335	$ 42,943	$ (29,687)
Basic:
Income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Parkway Properties, Inc. (in dollars per share)	$ 0.08	$ 0.33	$ 0.13	$ 0.07	$ 0.38	$ 0.00	$ (0.10)	$ 0.00	$ 0.60	$ 0.33	$ (0.60)
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.11	0.00	0.09	0.15
Basic net income (loss) attributable to Parkway Properties, Inc. (in dollars per share)	0.08	0.33	0.13	0.07	0.38	0.00	(0.10)	0.11	0.60	0.42	(0.45)
Dividends per common share (in dollars per share)	0.1875	0.1875	0.1875	0.1875	0.1875	0.1875	0.1875	0.1875	0.75	0.75	0.6375
Diluted:
Income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Parkway Properties, Inc. (in dollars per share)	0.08	0.33	0.13	0.07	0.38	0.00	(0.10)	0.00	0.60	0.33	(0.60)
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.11	0.00	0.09	0.15
Diluted net income (loss) attributable to Parkway Properties, Inc. (in dollars per share)	$ 0.08	$ 0.33	$ 0.13	$ 0.07	$ 0.38	$ 0.00	$ (0.10)	$ 0.11	$ 0.60	$ 0.42	$ (0.45)
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	111,614	111,583	111,543	111,216	111,076	100,016	99,092	97,356	111,490	101,913	66,336
Diluted (in shares)	116,760	116,723	116,666	116,531	116,521	100,016	99,092	102,614	116,691	107,319	66,336