Warehouse Rising from Ashes of Passaic’s 1985 Labor Day Fire

Like a phoenix, a building is set to rise from the scorched earth where a notorious Passaic fire erupted nearly four decades ago.

Stonemont Financial Group is planning a warehouse and logistics center in the New Jersey city, NorthJersey.com reported. The Atlanta-based real estate company purchased the land from Mynt Properties for an undisclosed price in December.

Stonemont’s industrial project will span 296,000 square feet, according to NJBIZ, and is being developed in a public-private partnership with the city. The site is 122 Eighth Street, right off Route 21 and a few miles from Route 3.

The Stonemont Passaic Logistics Center will have 40-foot clearance heights, rear-load configuration, 167 parking spaces and 55 trailer parking stalls. The company plans to have the facility operating by the spring or summer of next year.

In a statement, Stonemont principal Neal Moskowitz said the site was on the “top of our radar” because of its location and the nearby labor pool.

Two boys playing with matches started a fire that raged through the city on Labor Day, Sept. 2, 1985, destroying 20 percent of Passaic’s industrial base. The boys, ages 12 and 13, blamed each other for setting a vat of chemicals ablaze. Two dozen homes and a dozen factories, including the Eighth Street property, were damaged.

All of the sites have been reclaimed in the 37 years since, except for the one where Stonemont now plans to build.

Stonemont has been increasing its industrial portfolio in the tri-state area. In the last year, it has acquired five properties in either New York City or North Jersey, looking to capitalize on a tight market.

In the fourth quarter, the region’s industrial vacancy rate was a mere 1.4 percent, according to JLL.

In March 2021, Stonemont and an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management formed a joint venture to buy up to $1 billion worth of industrial real estate. At the time, Stonemont had roughly 15 million square feet under management.

— Holden Walter-Warner