XML 38 R8.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v2.4.0.6

Organization	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011
Organization
Organization	1. Organization Franklin Street Properties Corp. (“FSP Corp.” or the “Company”), holds, directly and indirectly, 100% of the interest in FSP Investments LLC, FSP Property Management LLC, FSP Holdings LLC and FSP Protective TRS Corp.  FSP Investments LLC is a registered broker/dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA.  FSP Property Management LLC provides asset management and property management services.  The Company also has a non-controlling common stock interest in 16 corporations organized to operate as real estate investment trusts (“REIT”) and a non-controlling preferred stock interest in three of those REITs.  Collectively, the 16 REITs are referred to as the “Sponsored REITs”. As of December 31, 2011, the Company owned and operated a portfolio of real estate consisting of 36 properties, managed 16 Sponsored REITs and held seven promissory notes secured by mortgages on real estate owned by Sponsored REITs, including one mortgage loan with a revolving line of credit component, one construction loan and five revolving lines of credit.  From time-to-time, the Company may acquire real estate, make additional secured loans or acquire a Sponsored REIT.  The Company may also pursue, on a selective basis, the sale of its properties in order to take advantage of the value creation and demand for its properties, or for geographic or property specific reasons. Previously the Company, through FSP Investments LLC, structured real estate investments and offered broker/dealer services that included the organization of Sponsored REITs, the acquisition and development of real estate on behalf of Sponsored REITs and the raising of capital to equitize the Sponsored REITs through sale of preferred stock in private placements.  On December 15, 2011, the Company announced that it would no longer sponsor the syndication of shares of preferred stock in newly-formed Sponsored REITs.

X

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, the major products or services it sells or provides and its principal markets, including the locations of those markets. If the entity operates in more than one business, the disclosure also indicates the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination (for example, assets, revenues, or earnings).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Name Statement of Position (SOP)

-Publisher AICPA

-Number 94-6

-Paragraph 10

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 275

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6003-108592

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_NatureOfOperations
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_OrganizationConsolidationAndPresentationOfFinancialStatementsAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration