The transition of a 148-acre parcel in Taunton from a retail relic to a logistics powerhouse is now complete, as Primo Brands prepares to occupy the first of three industrial buildings at the new Silver City Business Park this fall. This development, situated on the former grounds of the Silver City Galleria mall, represents a massive valuation swing for the site. After Thibeault Development acquired the property for $7.5 million at a 2019 foreclosure sale, the land was subsequently offloaded to Atlanta-based Portman Industrial for $75 million in 2021—a tenfold increase in market value in just two years.
From Retail Foreclosure to Industrial Hub
The rapid appreciation of the site is anchored in its strategic geography. The park’s primary value proposition lies in its direct access to Route 24 and Interstates 195 and 495, facilitated by a dedicated ramp to and from Route 140. This connectivity is the cornerstone of the park’s appeal for logistics and cold storage tenants. Following the 2020 departure of the final mall tenants and the subsequent demolition of the structure in 2021, the site was re-permitted for industrial use, setting the stage for its current high-capacity configuration.
The FedEx Pivot and Market Reality
The current three-building plan for the site was not the original vision. In the summer of 2022, Portman Industrial proposed a two-building layout, featuring one facility exceeding 500,000 square feet specifically intended for FedEx. That deal collapsed by the fall of 2022, a casualty of a broader corporate retrenchment. During that same period, FedEx reported disappointing quarterly earnings and initiated a multi-billion dollar cost-reduction strategy, which explicitly included the cancellation of new facility construction. This shift forced the developers to pivot, leading to the December 2023 approval by the Planning Board for the current three-building site plan.
Future Capacity and Investor Signals
With the first building now ready for Primo Brands, the focus shifts to the remaining two structures. According to Charles Pinkham III, Executive Vice President of Development for Portman Industrial, the firm expects to complete a 450,000-square-foot building and a 250,000-square-foot building within the next 12 months. These structures are designed to accommodate a diverse range of tenants, including manufacturing and research and development firms. Those interested in the specific technical specifications of the remaining space can review the details at silvercitybusinesspark.com.
For stakeholders monitoring the regional economy, the primary metric to watch will be the leasing velocity of the final two buildings. While the arrival of Primo Brands validates the park's utility, the ability of Portman Industrial to fill the remaining 700,000 square feet of combined space over the next year will serve as a definitive indicator of the demand for industrial footprint in the Taunton corridor. As interest rates and corporate capital expenditures remain fluid, the pace at which these final units move will reveal whether the industrial sector’s appetite for high-access logistics hubs can maintain the momentum seen since the 2021 acquisition.
