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The diagnosis: A sixth cervical vertebra shattered into 13 pieces.
But in the weeks, months and years that followed David Johnson hearing that news after a 1978 swimming pool diving accident, he didn't become bitter about his life, or "green" -- that is, envious of people who didn't go through the same ordeal.
Johnson, now 65, just became greener.
Instead of developing large swaths of pristine land as densely as possible to maximize profit and propagate cookie-cutter subdivisions, he said, he builds less than what he is allowed "to maximize the physical beauty" of his projects.
"I'm notorious for saying that I buy land by what I call the 'heart flutter' method," he said. "It has to be emotionally compelling land, physically beautiful."
And over the years, his company, which developed the Victor Center in Southfield 30 years ago and spearheaded the Victor Corporate Park mixed-use complex in Livonia, has made a lot of green, as well.
Victor International Corp. had $112.4 million in revenue in 2014, down slightly by 1.8 percent from the previous year's $114.4 million, according to company-provided figures. Through March, it had $42.7 million in revenue.
Johnson, chairman of the Clarkston-based company known for developing luxury residential and resort communities, spends about 10 months out of the year in the Oil Nut Bay resort community he developed on Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands.
That's because, due to his injury, he doesn't "handle the cold very well," he said.