TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and other municipal officials presided over a decommissioning ceremony for the Taipei First Funeral Parlor on Wednesday morning (June 12).

The funeral parlor had been in operation for  60 years before city officials decided upon its closure. Demolition work is expected to take five months to complete, with the plot of land turned into a temporary parking lot and adjacent green space for public use.

Neighbors had sought the demolition of the funeral parlor for decades. Closing the facility was finally made possible through a second-phase expansion project carried out at the Taipei Second Funeral Parlor, per UDN.

Built in 1964, Taipei's First Funeral Parlor became known as the “last mile” that friends and family traveled with their loved ones. Now that the funeral parlor has passed into history, many are wondering what will be constructed on the plot it once occupied.

Journalists attending the decommissioning ceremony peppered Chiang about future plans for the space, asking whether the plot would become a long-term care facility, a hospital, or a mixed-use public-private commercial development. Chiang said all citizen suggestions would be considered by the municipal government.

Chiang admitted Taipei's super-aged population has long-term care needs, though he said the final decision on  use would have to take into consideration the long-term development of Taipei City. He added that this downtown plot has particular value for the future of Taipei. 

Journalists also asked Chiang whether the surrounding private land would be expropriated and developed in conjunction with government-held land. Chiang said land to the west and northeast of the funeral parlor is privately held, making integration difficult, though such a possibility would also be evaluated.

With the demolition of the Taipei First Funeral Parlor, many worry Taipei Second Funeral Parlor will struggle with extra demand for mortuary services as well as transportation and parking. Chiang said after completing the second phase expansion of the Taipei Second Funeral Parlor, the total number of funeral halls will be increased to 28, and 300 new freezers will be added, which should meet demand.

Chiang admitted a few difficulties would be experienced during a transition period when funerary services are consolidated at the Taipei Second Funeral Parlor.