Is Taunton's Silver City Galleria Actually Getting Demolished?

Rumors have been swirling about Taunton’s vacant Silver City Galleria Mall and what will be the fate of the site once bustling with stores. Memes and announcements have been circulating online that the mall is being demolished, but no such announcement has been made by the state, city, or town.

I decided to do some digging and I found out what is really going on at Galleria Mall Drive.

Several posts like the one above have been making the rounds online, saying that the mall will be undergoing demolition on February 15 of this year, but I have yet to see a formal announcement on the supposed demo. After making a few phone calls that sent me to voicemail, I received a couple of voicemails in return that cleared up a few things.

According to a secretary at Taunton Mayor Shaunna O'Connell’s office, no permit has been submitted to the city for demolition.

“The galleria mall is owned by a private company, so the intent of the building is not for us to decide,” she said. "But as far as the demolition goes, there has been no permit that has been pulled for such action…so right now we are not aware of any legal demolition.

A few hours later, I received a call from Mayor O'Connell herself, who did confirm that the demolition will take place but did not provide a set date, stating the demolition will
“take place sometime in February, but we have been working with owners to develop that property so that we have the greatest impact on economic growth.”

To sum it up, the fate of the mall will be a demolition, but when it will happen depends on the approval of the permit that has yet to be received.

The doors of the mall closed last year, and once it crumbles to the ground in the near future, what could possibly be built in its place? Stay tuned.