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The new owner of the defunct Silver City Galleria in Taunton received approval to build a 651,076-square-foot warehouse and distribution facility for FedEx at the former shopping mall near Route 24.

Atlanta-based Portman Industrial received unanimously for the project, to be built at the 101-acre property at 2 and 8 Galleria Mall Drive, at Tuesday’s meeting of the Taunton City Council.

The nearly 1.1 million-square-foot mall closed in 2020 after a 29-year run, following the closure of anchor tenants including Sears, Macy’s and Best Buy. Portman Industrial purchased the property for $75 million in June 2021.

The project moves forward as brokerage research shows declining vacancy rates for industrial properties in Greater Boston amid rising construction activity, reflecting rising demand and asking rents.

The region has 15.5 million square feet of industrial development under way, Colliers Boston reported this week. The industrial vacancy rate fell to 5.1 percent, down 1.5 percent in the past 12 months.

The 47.3 million-square-foot Interstate 495 South submarket has a 6.6 percent availability rate, with average direct asking rents of $11.20 per square foot on a triple-net basis.