One hundred years ago, Petoskey, Mich., was home to a cement plant and limestone quarry a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan.

Today, the 1,200-acre “brownfield” area is known as Bay Harbor, and is home to restaurants, hotels, shops and an extravagant golf course - still just a stone’s throw from the Great Lake.

While the development - or redevelopment - wasn’t cheap or easy, it’s exactly the type of development Phil Davis likes to see.

As the director of MSU Extension’s Victor Institute for Responsible Land Development and Use, Davis said Bay Harbor serves as a shining example of the institute’s mission: Increasing redevelopment of previously developed but currently abandoned areas - brownfields - while still preserving areas that haven’t been developed - greenfields.

“We’re looking at doing best practices in Michigan that are research-based,” said Davis, an MSU alumnus. “If we redevelop areas that have been functionally obsolete, that’s a good practice.”

Bay Harbor was developed by MSU alumnus David Johnson, who offered his middle name and $1 million to start the Victor Institute.

Although the institute’s mission and his brownfield resort have turned to gold, not everything Johnson touches is so well-received.

Arguments surrounding Johnson’s private property on Lake Michigan’s South Fox Island have caused controversy among local Native Americans, conservationists, ecologists, travelers and history buffs.

Johnson proposed a land swap last year that would eliminate the scattered checkerboard ownership of the island by consolidating his land into the southern two-thirds of the island, while the State of Michigan would retain the northern area.

Questions about boater access, hunting areas, unresolved land claims, endangered plant and animal species and two aging lighthouses on the island all stand in the way of the trade.

But since the institute opened on campus nearly a year and a half ago, Davis said he and collaborators from around the MSU Extension have striven to stop this type of controversy before it even begins.

By mapping out development and land-use option and consequence scenarios, institute staffers allow private citizens, government agencies, hometown governments and educators to make decisions about the type of development or land use they want in their own area.

“There was a gap between developers who need to make decisions and people who are experts at various ‘ologies,’” Davis said. “A lot of times, they’re not talking to each other.

“Now they’re participating together so they understand each other’s constraints and needs.”

Institute representatives make recommendations about options that have succeeded in the past, but do not make endorsements or decisions.

“Education is a big part,” Davis said. “We have a lot of breadth and depth with all our collaborators. We want to bring together the right resources for local problem-solving.”

The institute’s services already have been in high demand - MSU Extension offices in the state’s 83 counties give people access to the institute from anywhere in Michigan.

Johnson said he was happy to provide start-up funds for the institute - and even happier to see its success.

“Michigan State was the ideal place for it,” said Johnson, a 1971 graduate. “It’s a land grant college. We want to avoid urban sprawl and negative development issues. The goal is to make things useful.”

While the one-of-a-kind institute has been called upon for planning around the state and country, it has yet to gain fame on campus.

“I have no clue what it is,” said Mary Scallen, an education senior. “I think I’m really informed about campus, but I’ve never heard of this.

“But I guess if people are going to develop their land, there’s got to be somebody who can help them out. It would be useful for students in those majors.”

The institute helped to sponsor a lecture series on campus last spring, and is working to create virtual courses dealing with land use, management and planning.

As the institute grows, Davis said he expects to see more examples of brownfield redevelopment and in-depth planning popping up around the state, like Detroit’s Comerica Park and the new Consumers Energy headquarters being built in Jackson.

“We’re going to become a focal point for the state,” he said. “We’re seeing a huge demand for the types of services we’re offering. It’s a good neighbor policy.

“In one year’s time, we’ve touched thousands of people, and we’ve got a pretty ambitious agenda.”

Jamie Gumbrecht can be reached at gumbrec1@msu.edu.