Leadership
Jesse has over two decades of experience in real estate investments, development, and urban planning.
Jesse serves as Managing Director of CPRD and brings over 20 years of diverse industry experience in the development and consulting sectors. Since CPRD’s founding in 2013, Jesse has led, managed and advised on the sourcing, acquisition, planning, design, entitlement, and development of over 127 acres of land, 1,340 residential units, and 775,000 sq. ft. of commercial space.
Prior to CPRD, Jesse served as Executive Director of the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC), where he led the turnaround of a 35-property portfolio and grew revenue 156% to recover after the recession. Before HDDC, he was the Senior Development Director of Songy Highroads, where he managed the acquisition, development and asset management of over 1.3 million square feet of commercial and hospitality investments and developments throughout the Southeast valued at over $250 million. Prior to Songy, he was a senior analyst with Ernst & Young’s Real Estate Advisory Services, where he had a lead role in over $2.4 billion worth of acquisition & development due diligence, portfolio valuations, and capital markets. Jesse was also a senior research analyst with Berkadia conducting socioeconomic and multifamily market research on 50 major cities across the United States. His first job in real estate was in 1999, when he obtained his real estate license and worked for a commercial real estate firm to get hands-on experience in the industry while an undergraduate student.
Jesse obtained a Master of City and Regional Planning with a concentration in land and community development from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Finance and minor in Real Estate from the University of Central Florida. Jesse is AICP Certified by the American Planning Association and holds a Georgia Real Estate License. He has also served as an adjunct lecturer at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business, teaching a graduate course on commercial real estate development. He served as a medic in the Army National Guard and completed a tour of duty overseas during Operation Iraqi Freedom, earning the Army Commendation Medal and an Honorable Discharge.