Retrofit Atlas

Malls · New York

Rainbow Mall

From the authors' mapReinhabitedPartly retrofittedNiagara Falls, NY

Partial Reinhabited in 2012. · from the fields below

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Site profile14 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Place
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)This site: 5/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this
Bike network nearbyThis site: 71 ways openstreetmap · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 4 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
High social vulnerability tract (SVI ≥ 0.75)This site: 0.96 cdc-svi · all sites with this
Interstate or freeway within 600 mThis site: NIAGARA ST fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
Lower-income tract (< $50k)This site: $36,494 census-acs · all sites with this
National Register place within 500 mThis site: Jefferson Apartment Building; United Office Building nps-nrhp · all sites with this
Opportunity ZoneThis site: 36063021100 hud-oz · all sites with this
Renter-majority tractThis site: 78% census-acs · all sites with this
Shrinking countyThis site: -0.2% census-acs · all sites with this
Tract income up 60%+ since 2013This site: +74% census-acs · all sites with this
Tract population up 25%+ since 2013This site: +26% census-acs · all sites with this
Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)This site: …index 14.7 epa-walkability · all sites with this
Strategy
ReinhabitedThis site: Partial reinhabitation: education record · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

From the authors' map

NY, Niagara Falls: Rainbow Mall/Niagara Falls Culinary Institute, 2012
• Partial reinhabitation: education

Now

StatusPartly retrofittedauthors' map reported
StrategyPartial ReinhabitedWikidata reported
What is there nowPartial reinhabitation: educationauthors' map reported
Retrofit year2012authors' map reported

Site context

FEMA flood zoneX · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m17: ENSOL INC; FOUR MILE CREEK STATE PARK; NATIONAL GRID MH 3006 4TH S NIAGARA FALLS; NIAGARA FALLS BRIDGE COMM; NIAGARA FALLS CITY OF - RAINBOW CENTREEPA FRS
Census tract 360630211001,575 people, 1,955 per sq mi; median household income $36,494; median gross rent $881; 78% renters; 26.6% vacant units; 4.0% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)index 14.7 of 20; 333 intersections per sq mi; no transit stop within the EPA search radius; land-use mix 0.35; 36,829 jobs within 45 min by car, 11,336 by transit; 32% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)5 of 6 daily needs: 4 grocers, 1 schools, 29 parks or playgrounds, 0 health, 5 civic, 39 food and drink; 71 cycleway segments, 220 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity Zoneyes, tract 36063021100 (rural)HUD
National Register places within 500 m6: Jefferson Apartment Building; United Office Building; Niagara, The; First Presbyterian ManseNPS
Housing permits, Niagara County (NY), 20240 units in 5+ unit buildings, 2 in 2–4, 165 single-family; 2023: 0 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)overall percentile 0.96; socioeconomic 0.97; housing and transport 0.70; 59% below 150% of poverty; 35% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby1 within 10 km, 4 within 25 km: Niagara Square (5.6 km)computed
Overture Mapsno place match; building footprint 16,909 m², 11.034451484680176 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views36,260 since 2015; 2,647 in the last 12 months (+7% vs the prior 12); peak 2023-12 with 520Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023population +26% (1,249 → 1,575); median income +74% ($20,938 → $36,494); renters 81% → 78%; median home value +110% ($65,600 → $137,500)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)very low overall (score 4.4); expected annual loss $272,791; community resilience very highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 km3 LIHTC properties, 90 units: Walnut Avenue Homes (41 units); 601 Ferry Ave (30 units); Carolyn'S House (19 units)HUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)8,979 jobs in 620 establishments; average annual pay $38,719; employment location quotient 1.32; employment -3.2% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 20224,459 jobs; 64 in retail trade, 764 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 36063021100)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 34th income percentile as adults; 4.7% incarcerated at the 2010 count (405 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)not a low-access tract at 1 mile; 25% of residents more than 1 mile from a supermarket; poverty rate 38.9%; median family income $31,140; 163 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsNiagara Falls City School District (PK-12); 0 public schools within 1 mileNCES EDGE
Elevation565 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025100 county-logged events: 55 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 17 flash flood, 8 flood; $3,083,500 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 14303, 2026-09median list price $112,475 (-9.3% on the year); 29 active listings; median 59 days on market; 23% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023722 establishments (-2%); 9,867 jobs (-7%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $254,624 (+5% 1 yr, +35% 5 yr); typical rent $1,177/mo (+5% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)7,806 vehicles a day on NIAGARA ST (freeway or expressway, 8 lanes); 144 trucks; 40 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Similar sites

  • Summit Park Mall, Wheatfield, NY · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY; 10 km away
  • Main Place Mall, Buffalo, NY · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY; 27 km away
  • Como Mall, Cheektowaga, NY · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY; 33 km away
  • Midtown Plaza, Rochester, NY · Malls · same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY

Elsewhere on the web

Retail history: Rainbow Mall on DeadMalls.com photos, field notes and visitor memories since 2000; matched by name and city; nothing copied here

Pages with photos

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Now called / also known asNiagara Falls Culinary Institute, Rainbow Centre Factory Outlet
CountyNiagara County
Census division2 · Mid-Atlantic
NotesWikipedia categories: Abandoned shopping malls in the United States

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, year opened, original developer. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Rainbow Centre Factory Outlet, formerly the Rainbow Centre Mall is an abandoned mall in Niagara Falls, New York, adjacent to the now-demolished Wintergarden indoor botanical garden on its southern end.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 2012 Retrofit: reinhabit

Sources

More in New York

Albee Square MallBrooklyn, NY · 2012Redeveloped · Redevelopment: mixed useAmsterdam Riverfront CenterAmsterdam, NY · 2011Reinhabited · Reinhabitation: office and self-storageComo MallCheektowaga, NY · 1991Reinhabited · Reinhabitation, office and educationMain Place MallBuffalo, NY · 2013Partial Reinhabited · Partial reinhabitation: data centerMidtown PlazaMidtown PlazaRochester, NY · 2005Partial Redeveloped · Regreened · Reinhabited · Partial reinhabitation: residential Partial redevelopment: office…Summit Park MallWheatfield, NY · 2020Partial Redeveloped · Reinhabited · Partial reinhabitation: sports