NIAGARA FALLS — It was designed to help protect people from the elements as they walked between the Rainbow Centre Mall and the Wintergarden.

  Last week, crews started tearing down the enclosed pedestrian walkway above First Street, signaling the beginning of the end for a remnant of urban renewal that had outlived its usefulness in a downtown area undergoing significant changes.

“It was certainly practical, but it was also symbolic because it’s no longer the Rainbow Mall,” said Chris Schoepflin, president of the state-run USA Niagara Development Corp., the agency overseeing the walkway’s removal. “In doing so, we are saying it’s not about yesterday. It’s about tomorrow.”

The removal of the pedestrian bridge follows the 2009 razing of the Wintergarden as part of the redesign of the streetscape along Old Falls Street between Niagara Falls State Park and the Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel.

The portion of the old Rainbow Mall building facing Old Falls Street is now being turned into Niagara County Community College’s new culinary arts center.

The corner of the First and Old Falls streets, where the pedestrian bridge stood for many years, will by next fall be home to a Barnes and Noble bookstore at the culinary center. In addition to the bookstore, the Old Falls Street side of the culinary center will feature a deli, pastry shop and restaurant, offering a new look and feel to the area.

“This was the wrong walkway in the wrong place,” said Mayor Paul Dyster. “Getting rid of it is another sign that we’re adopting a new philosophy downtown. It was no longer functional and now that area will have the feel of a real urban corner with a real urban feel.”

The $100,000 walkway removal project represents one of the final pieces of the $1.5 million effort to reconfigure the interior of the mall building. The Rainbow Centre Mall is now a mere shell of its former self as construction crews have completed abatement and demolition work on the inside. The property has been stripped to make room for the new culinary center, which is slated to open next fall. The remainder of the mall building — roughly 200,000-square feet of “build ready” space — will eventually be marketed by city and state officials to potential investors.

“It doesn’t look like an old, closed mall, it looks like a world of potential,” Schoepflin said. “When you go in there, it doesn’t look like something that is no longer open. You go in there now and you are down to concrete and steel.”

What the remainder of the mall will look like has not yet been determined. Schoepflin said there are variety of possible uses to be considered, including retail, lodging, commercial space or even housing. The city and the state intend to solicit public input on potential uses for the mall space as the process unfolds.

“What we’re hoping to do is create a buzz in the development community about what this space could be in the future,” Dyster said. “By then, we are hoping that we will have eliminated several of the major impediments to development that have existed downtown for many years. As one of these projects gets done, the next project gets easier.”

USA Niagara is now shifting its attention to renovating the attached parking ramp. The $7 million project involves new lighting, surface upgrades, the construction of an exterior pedestrian elevator and other improvements. The completed project will offer 1,600 parking spaces in what city and state officials hope will be a more secure and accessible environment. The ramp work is expected to be substantially completed by next summer.

Schoepflin said the overall goal is to continue to build upon the state-funded Old Falls Street redevelopment project and the upcoming opening of the culinary arts center

“I think getting Falls Street right is very important to all other parts of downtown,” Schoepflin said. “Falls Street is really the core and the heartbeat of downtown. The stronger we can make that core, the stronger the potential for other parts of the city like Third Street and Main Street. It’s good for everybody.”

Contact Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250.