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A vacant building adjacent to the Lakehouse has been approved for renovations.

The Asbury Park planning board unanimously approved an application for renovations to the Lake Avenue façade of 644 Cookman Ave. at their Monday meeting.

The plan proposes a new brick facade with a corrugated aluminum awning and windows lining the ground floors providing an urban, light industrial feel. Proposed building uses include light retail with the possibility for a restaurant’s use. Residential use could be a part of the building’s interior renovation, but will require further approval from the city’s zoning board.

Local architect James Watt, principal of Watt Architects, presented the application on behalf of the applicant, Fifty Four Pierrepont Associates, LLC.

The Lakehouse building, located at 619 Lake Avenue, to the right of the building set for renovations, set the example for re-adaptive use in the area, Watt said. The project will follow in the same spirit as the Lakehouse renovations, which took an long-vacant building and transformed it into a state-of-the-art facility that houses a music academy, recording studios and rehearsal space, Russo Music Center, Cowerks shared office space, Bands on a Budget and Café Mumfords.

Another rehabilitated building in the area will bring a “more pedestrian friendly approach to Lake Avenue,” which is not as extensive as on Cookman, Watt said.

The renovations will help Lake Avenue achieve a more polished streetscape, rather than looking like the “back of Cookman Avenue,” he said.

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