John Cirigliano is an expert in real estate management, development, financing, and ownership. His career spans decades of experience in investment, asset management, and strategic development across multiple sectors in the United States and internationally.
John began his professional journey at Lazard Freres & Co., Longstreet Division (1968–1972) as an Associate. The firm purchased, financed, leased, operated, and syndicated net-leased real estate in the United States and Canada, with an emphasis on retail and supermarkets. His responsibilities included oversight of partner-owned real estate such as hotels, motels, and apartments in Phoenix, Tucson, Long Beach, and Palm Springs, California, managing assets worth over $100 million.
John’s motivation in later years has been shaped by discerning how value locked in underutilized land could be redirected to benefit institutions with a higher mission, particularly the Church and related educational organizations. Through VLT Advisers, John and his partners established a platform that functions as the experienced management team for Vizier Land Trust’s investment strategy, focused on long-term purchase and lease-back of Church facility lands.
The strategy is designed to provide liquidity alternatives traditionally only available to for-profit institutions and large real estate organizations. Whereas traditional mortgages may provide only about 10 times the principal debt payments and bind organizations to restrictive covenants, cash flow allocations, and costly yield maintenance agreements, VLT offers Churches the ability to unlock up to 20 times the rents payable—without the burden of future debt maturities.
Whenever Church officials consider alternatives to capital gift campaigns or unaligned mortgage financing to fund capital projects or strategic initiatives, VLT engages collaboratively with the Church hierarchy and trusted advisers to review the cost and risk of using one of their most illiquid assets—land. This approach allows faith-based organizations to achieve their capital-raising goals with greater assurance, flexibility, and significant cash flow savings, while continuing to use their lands for sacramentally valuable purposes.
VLT and Vizier represent a principal transaction party, working in concert with Church counsel and advisers. Once a review determines that a transaction makes sense, the parties enter into a Memorandum of Understanding covering all significant financial terms and required consents, followed by formal agreements. With VLT management’s fifty years of corporate and institutional REIT experience, Church and Church-related institutions gain a mission-aligned financing solution that strengthens both their operations and long-term sustainability.
From 1970 to 1972, John served as Initial Trustee and Officer for Corporate Property Investors REIT, acquiring shopping centers and net lease properties. The investors included Morgan Guaranty Trust, Ford Foundation, G.E. Pension Fund, U.S. Pension Fund, Rockefeller group, Carter Wallace Corp., Standard Oil of Indiana Pension Fund, two World Bank Pension Funds, Brookings Institution, and more. John worked under Lazard Partner and CPI Chair, Disque Deane. CPI merged with Simon Property Group in 1998 in a $5.8 billion transaction.
As Managing Director, John developed an eight-story (~217,280 sq ft) General Secretariat Building for the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C. He managed acquisition, transaction management, and equity ownership of retail and supermarket properties exceeding 200,000 sq ft. He was lead underwriter for over $800 million in General Electric securities, $200 million in CSX, and other major securities. John also led Merrill’s Special Product Group, developing LYONs (Liquid Yield Option Notes) and financed major office buildings including the National Bank of Alaska (~40,000 sq ft).
John founded and served as General Partner for ClearPark Partners, acquiring over 30 New York City condominium units. Recognizing rental market opportunities before other real estate players, he leased units to young families employed by NY State, federal agencies, or school boards. He sold units to individual buyers for, on average, twice ClearPark’s purchase price within 42 months, producing an NOI exceeding 20% of cost.
John was an original shareholder of Hotel Le Montrachet, a boutique hotel and Michelin one-star restaurant in Burgundy, France. He helped develop the acquisition strategy, leveraging knowledge of French culture, viniculture, and property management. His interest was sold in 2006 to a partner who wished to control the property.
As Member of the General Partner, John converted a condo property to a Residence Inn in downtown White Plains, NY. The property was sold for a 3.5X return on capital invested through Corporate Capital Partners, a partnership controlled by John.
John serves as Advisor and Partner to Marrick, a nationwide developer of shopping centers, offices, warehouses, retail, FEDEX facilities, and apartments. He partnered with Marrick to acquire a 43,000 sq ft, 2+ acre property in Lexington, KY, in 2005. John’s company, Clearbrook, manages the property for investors. Other properties consulted include a strip center in Denver and Arizona supermarkets.
As Board Member of KTI Inc., John guided operations and development strategies for a 732-acre office and technology campus. He reviewed architectural proposals, leases, and operational issues for over 200,000 sq ft of properties and served on the BOD of Coldstream Laboratories controlled by UK Healthcare.
John is Managing Member of HDC Holdings, conceiving investment parameters and negotiating acquisition of a 43,000 sq ft medical office building at $4.3 million. He arranged long-term leases with AA-rated tenants, supervised management through a tenant bankruptcy, and sold properties for a combined $17.3 million, achieving an IRR over 18%.
Founder and Managing Member, John conceived this $43 million project, including its asset value, location, tenant mix, rent levels, commercial/retail space, and separate 4th Street retail location. The property is shovel-ready, benefited from unanimous zoning/TIF approvals, and includes a negotiated cell tower lease agreement.
John is CEO of Clearbrook Companies and has served as Senior Adviser to The Red Herring magazine, Director of Digital Origin, Managing Director at Merrill Lynch, and founding officer of Corporate Property Investors. He lectured on real estate finance at the Practising Law Institute. John was appointed Citizen-at-Large Member of the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council (2009–2018) and served on the board of Kentucky Technology Inc. He was appointed Board Member of Bluegrass Community & Technical College in 2025, term extending to 2029.
John developed a strong philanthropic focus as a scholarship student at Columbia University. He endowed the John Cirigliano Scholarships at Columbia over 30 years ago. Columbia awarded him the Alumni Medal (1991) and Maniatty Distinguished Alumnus Award (2004). He was elected director of the Gaines Center for the Humanities at the University of Kentucky (2005), named a Fellow of the University, and joined the National Strategy Council of UK College of Arts & Sciences in 2011.
John benefited from mentorship with renowned economists and finance leaders, including Prof. Peter B. Kenen (Columbia), Profs. Fischer Black & Franco Modigliani (MIT), and maintained a friendship with Simon J. Sheather, PhD (Dean, Gatton College of Business, UK). At Merrill Lynch, he worked with senior management and global leaders including Paul Volcker, Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
John speaks French and Italian, and has traveled extensively. His investment strategy emphasizes hands-on management, local knowledge, and location-driven value enhancement. He works with experienced partners, some invested with him for over 20 years. He values data intelligence for economic development initiatives.
John holds a BA from Columbia University and a JD from New York Law School.
Bill Alverson, President, Traditional Bank
Thomas Ladt, former CEO, PetSuites
Henry L Hinkle, Sr., Hinkle Holdings
Joe Rosenberg, Real Estate Investor
William Craycraft, Market President, City National Bank, Lexington, KY
Simon J Sheather, PhD, Truist Bank Professor of Data Science, Dean of the Gatton School of Business & Economics, University of Kentucky
Hon. Emily Cowles, Member, Wyatt, Tarrant & Com
Some of John’s views on value, financial systems, and economic development are available at LinkedIn and CLB Associates Blog.
