Jesse Saginor, AICP
Dr. Saginor joined the Real Estate Development Program at the University of Maryland in August 2023, and currently serves as Assistant Director and as Associate Professor. He spent the past decade in various roles at Florida Atlantic University, serving as associate dean, department chair, and program coordinator. He started his academic career at Texas A&M University, where he taught in the undergraduate Urban and Regional Planning Program and the Master of Land and Property Development Program. His coursework includes economic development, infrastructure development, market analysis, public-private partnerships, real estate development, and urban revitalization.
Dr. Saginor’s service activities in the community include multiple leadership roles. He currently serves as chairperson of the Delray Beach Housing Authority since 2018 and has been a commissioner with the Delray Beach Housing Authority since 2015. From 2015 to 2023, the property management portfolio increased by 685 units, including a 60-unit affordable housing development expected to be completed in late 2023. Previously he served as chairperson of the Delray Housing Group where he continues to serve on the Board of Directors. He also served on the executive board of the School District of Palm Beach County Independent Sales Surtax Oversight Committee from 2017 until 2023, overseeing the expenditure of $1.3B in sales tax proceeds from a countywide referendum passed in 2016.
Dr. Saginor’s research interests revolve around affordable housing, real estate development, real estate education, economic development, and public policy impacts on real estate valuation. His work has been published in the Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Journal of Property Investment & Finance, Journal of Property Tax Assessment & Administration, Journal of Real Estate Literature, Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education, Journal of Real Estate Research, Journal of Urban Design, and Real Estate Finance. Current and future research focuses on funding optimization for affordable housing using decision trees; economic development policy related to the future of work in a time of automation; virtual reality training and community-oriented policing; the geography of police use of force; and the impact of automation/artificial intelligence/machine learning on employment sectors, and land use.