| **Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements - Additional information (Details) (USD $)In Thousands, unless otherwise specified** | 12 Months Ended                                                                    |                                                                                                                                                    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
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| **Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]**                                         |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| Total Impairment Charge                                                                                                                  | $ 0us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges                                                  | $ 5,080us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges                                                                                                              | $ 2,551us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges |   |
| Long term debt                                                                                                                           | 63,804us-gaap_LongTermDebt                                                         | 44,217us-gaap_LongTermDebt                                                                                                                         |   |   |
| Retained interest investments                                                                                                            | 9,932joe_RetainedInterest                                                          | 9,639joe_RetainedInterest                                                                                                                          |   |   |
| Defeased Debt                                                                                                                            |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| **Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]**                                         |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| Long term debt                                                                                                                           |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   | 29,300us-gaap_LongTermDebt/ us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis= joe_DefeasedDebtMember |
| Golf Course Property                                                                                                                     |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| **Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]**                                         |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| Total Impairment Charge                                                                                                                  |                                                                               | $ 4,900us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges/ us-gaap_RealEstateAndAccumulatedDepreciationDescriptionOfPropertyAxis= joe_ImpairedGolfCoursePropertyMember |   |   |
| Minimum                                                                                                                                  |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| **Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]**                                         |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| Retained interest, effective interest rate                                                                                               | 3.70%joe_DiscountRateOnRetainedInterest/ us-gaap_RangeAxis= us-gaap_MinimumMember  |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| Maximum                                                                                                                                  |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| **Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]**                                         |                                                                               |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |
| Retained interest, effective interest rate                                                                                               | 11.80%joe_DiscountRateOnRetainedInterest/ us-gaap_RangeAxis= us-gaap_MaximumMember |                                                                                                                                               |   |   |

| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Discount rate on retained interest.
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**joe_DiscountRateOnRetainedInterest**Namespace Prefix:**joe_**Data Type:**num:percentItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Retained Interest
+ References
No definition available.
+ Details**Name:**joe_RetainedInterest**Namespace Prefix:**joe_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**debit**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Amount of write-down of assets recognized in the income statement. Includes, but is not limited to, losses from tangible assets, intangible assets and goodwill.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 28 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=31042434&loc=d3e3602-108585Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 360 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 4 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=8077374&loc=d3e2420-110228
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_AssetImpairmentCharges**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**debit**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_FairValueAssetsAndLiabilitiesMeasuredOnRecurringAndNonrecurringBasisLineItems**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:stringItemType**Balance Type:**na**Period Type:**duration |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Definition
Carrying amount of long-term debt, net of unamortized discount or premium, including current and noncurrent amounts. Includes, but not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, debentures, mortgage loans and commercial paper. Excludes capital lease obligations.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 03 -Paragraph 16 -Article 7Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.22) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 942 -SubTopic 210 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.9-03.16) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6876686&loc=d3e534808-122878Reference 4: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 03 -Paragraph 16 -Article 9Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 02 -Paragraph 20, 22 -Article 5Reference 6: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 944 -SubTopic 210 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.16) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910
+ Details**Name:**us-gaap_LongTermDebt**Namespace Prefix:**us-gaap_**Data Type:**xbrli:monetaryItemType**Balance Type:**credit**Period Type:**instant |
| X                                                                                                                                         |
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis=joe_DefeasedDebtMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MaximumMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                               |
|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_RangeAxis=us-gaap_MinimumMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |
| X                                                                                                                                                                                                  |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| - Details**Name:**us-gaap_RealEstateAndAccumulatedDepreciationDescriptionOfPropertyAxis=joe_ImpairedGolfCoursePropertyMember**Namespace Prefix:****Data Type:**na**Balance Type:****Period Type:** |