Undeveloped Land and Construction in Progress (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified		12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development	Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Other Miscellaneous Projects	Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Multifamily apartmentunits		Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Multifamily 220 Riverside (Jacksonville, FL) apartmentunits		Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Multifamily Colonial Grand at Bellevue Phase II (Nashville, TN) apartmentunits		Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Multifamily Colonial Grand at Lake Mary Phase III (Orlando, FL) apartmentunits		Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Multifamily Colonial Grand at Randal Lakes (Orlando, FL) apartmentunits		Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Multifamily Colonial Reserve at South End (Charlotte, NC) apartmentunits		Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Commercial sqft		Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Commercial Colonial Promenade Huntsville Phase II (Huntsville, AL) sqft		Dec. 31, 2013 Active Development Commercial Brookwood West - Retail (Birmingham, AL) sqft		Dec. 31, 2013 Future Development	Dec. 31, 2013 Future Development Multifamily	Dec. 31, 2013 Future Development Commercial	Dec. 31, 2013 Future Development Commercial Outparcels/Pads	Dec. 31, 2013 Future Development For-Sale Residential Land	Dec. 31, 2013 Parent Company [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Parent Company [Member]
Undeveloped Land and Construction in Progress
Number of active development projects		7
Number of units in real estate property				1,461	[1]	294	[1]	220	[1]	132	[1]	462	[1]	353	[1]
Square footage of real estate property (square foot)																64,300	[1]	23,000	[1]	41,300	[1]
Costs capitalized to date	$ 166,048	$ 147,777	$ 18,271	$ 132,279		$ 15,025		$ 7,462		$ 9,117		$ 49,819		$ 50,856		$ 15,498		$ 6,085		$ 9,413							$ 166,048	$ 52,455
Undeveloped land																						$ 63,850	$ 20,350	$ 28,800	$ 700	$ 14,000	$ 63,850	$ 1,205

[1] Units refer to multifamily apartment units. Square feet refers to commercial space and excludes space owned by anchor tenants.