NIAGARA FALLS — Tourists can now eat lunch and buy souvenirs inside the former Occidental Chemical administration building.

But they won’t be able to park outside the building, near the Rainbow Bridge, unless they plan to avail themselves of the services inside.

City Building Commissioner Guy Bax said the city authorized the certificate of compliance for the first floor of the building on Friday.

Owner Frank Parlato Jr. has “complied substantially with the Planning Board’s requirements, and the building code has been satisfied with regard to those matters that this department has been concerned with,” Bax said.

Parlato took over the office building at 360 S. Rainbow Blvd. in 2004.

He filled in most of the aquarium hole left behind by a previous developer, and in 2005 he used the space for a paid, gravel parking lot and rented the lawn to souvenir and food vendors without the necessary city approvals.

The building was condemned for a month last year due to several fire safety and electrical issues — during which time Parlato kept the building open to the public — and it was condemned again this winter when the electrical and plumbing were shut off and the building was closed.

At this stage, Parlato is only allowed to use the first floor of the building, and parking is limited to building visitors, not the general public, Bax said.

In order to open up the building’s upper floors, Parlato needs to share with the city plans on how those floors would be used. He also needs to address building code violation issues in court, Bax said.

Crews from Thomann Asphalt Paving Corp. of Clarence Friday paved the lot that once was to become the site of a failed underground aquarium, called Aqua Falls.

Parlato said it took $4 million to blast and excavate the lot. He said he next plans to beautify the grounds.

Parlato’s attorney, Paul Grenga, said the Daredevil Cafe would open now that the occupancy permit has been granted for what Parlato has renamed the “One Niagara” building. The first floor also will include a second restaurant, the Burger Palace, a candy store and an ice cream shop. In addition, Grenga said, a souvenir shop will open soon.

The parking lot will not be free of charge, Grenga said, with costs not yet set. “Usually we charge the same as the state parks and the city [lots nearby],” he said, “but it’s restricted to people using the building.”

The reason why it took so long to repave the lot, Grenga said, was because the paving plan wasn’t approved by the city’s Planning Commission and the asphalt plants did not open until two weeks ago. “Before that,” he said, “we had to put our drainage in.”