Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Business (Notes)

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Business (Notes)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Business [Abstract]  
Nature of Operations [Text Block]
Business
Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. and subsidiaries is one of the largest owners and operators of outlet centers in the United States. We are a fully-integrated, self-administered and self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") which, through our controlling interest in the Operating Partnership, focuses exclusively on developing, acquiring, owning, operating and managing outlet shopping centers. As of June 30, 2012, we owned and operated 36 outlet centers, with a total gross leasable area of approximately 10.7 million square feet. We also had partial ownership interests in 3 outlet centers totaling approximately 1.2 million square feet, including one outlet center in Ontario, Canada.
Our outlet centers and other assets are held by, and all of our operations are conducted by, Tanger Properties Limited Partnership and subsidiaries. Accordingly, the descriptions of our business, employees and properties are also descriptions of the business, employees and properties of the Operating Partnership. Unless the context indicates otherwise, the term, "Company", refers to Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. and subsidiaries and the term, "Operating Partnership", refers to Tanger Properties Limited Partnership and subsidiaries. The terms "we", "our" and "us" refer to the Company or the Company and the Operating Partnership together, as the text requires.
The Company owns the majority of the units of partnership interest issued by the Operating Partnership through its two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Tanger GP Trust and Tanger LP Trust. Tanger GP Trust controls the Operating Partnership as its sole general partner. Tanger LP Trust holds a limited partnership interest. In addition, the Family Limited Partners own the remaining Operating Partnership units.