Dominic Vaccaro of Burlington Capital - The World of Commercial Real Estate Investing

Jun 3, 2025

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Today on the podcast, Rusty and Robyn are joined by Dominic Vaccaro, President of Real Estate at Burlington Capital. Dominic Vaccaro is President of Real Estate and sits on the Investment Committee of Burlington Capital, the company’s sponsored investment programs and advisor. With 20 years of experience at Burlington Capital, Mr. Vaccaro oversees all of the company’s real estate operations including acquisitions, development and property management. During his tenure at Burlington Capital, he has been involved with the acquisition and/or development of multifamily properties with asset values totaling nearly $3 billion with over 35,000 units. These properties include market rate, affordable, military, veteran, student and senior housing. He has also been primarily responsible for the company’s efforts with public-private partnerships including nine privatized student housing projects with asset values totaling in excess of $180 million and the military housing privatization at Offutt Air Force Base with development costs of $240 million and over 2,000 housing units. He is experienced in the acquisition and development of multifamily properties, including both construction and permanent financing, structuring and issuance of taxable and tax-exempt bonds and the management of portfolios of real estate. Mr. Vaccaro has a B.S. in Business Administration – Finance from Creighton University.

Key Takeaways

[03:33] - Dominic’s professional background and more on his current role at Burlington Capital
[04:21] - What is Burlington Capital’s investment philosophy and what makes it stand out from its peers?
[05:27] - How does Dominic define the role of alternatives, and specifically real estate, in a diversified investment portfolio?
[06:55] - How large is the asset class of multi-family real estate and how has the perception of this asset class changed over the past decade among institutional and retail investors?
[09:11] - What makes multi-family real estate particularly attractive in a long-term asset allocation strategy?
[11:50] - How has Dominic’s team at Burlington evolved their approach to multi-family real estate with changing interest rates, demographics etc?
[13:10] - A case study that highlights the real world impact, and performance, of a multi-family investment
[17:05] - What are some of the ways that multi-family real estate delivers tax efficiency, and when and how are these typically realized by investors?
[20:03] - What macro trends are most critical to multi-family performance today?
[21:50] - Are there particular demographic or behavioral shifts (e.g. remote work or Gen Z renters) that will shape demand in the years ahead?
[23:43] - How has Dominic’s personal investment philosophy evolved over his 20+ years at Burlington Capital?
[24:47] - What advice would Dominic give to young professionals who are interested in alternative investments or, specifically, real estate development.
[25:57] - What is currently one of Dominic’s favorite investment ideas?

Quotes

[11:21] - “As you look at multi-family today, there's a certain appeal as values are down 20-25% off their peaks. Given the rise in interest rates, certainly multi-family provides an entry point that, relative to prior highs, provides some opportunities.” ~ Dominic Vaccaro

[22:46] - “The two [major changes in multi-family real estate] that always come to mind…for me are, certainly the evolution of the internet, and the need for good access in that regard, but also pets. You know, early in my career, it was very much commonplace [to not allow pets]. Now…it's almost catered heavily to pets and the role pets play…so it’s interesting to see how the demand for multi-family overtime has been influenced by some of these factors and will continue to be.” ~ Dominic Vaccaro

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