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Manhattan-based design firm Stonehill & Taylor unveiled well-received plans for the restoration of the Salvation Army building to the city’s Technical Review Committee Tuesday.

Master waterfront redeveloper iStar Financial brought Stonehill & Taylor in to transform the long-vacant building into an 110-room boutique style hotel, located on the block bound by Kingsley, Fourth and Fifth avenues and Bergh Street.

Some of the firm’s previous historic restoration projects include the NoMad, Ace, Plaza and Paramount hotels in New York City.

In principle, the existing building will remain but pre-cast and glass additions will be added to the exterior façade on the first floor to open up the lobby area, according to Paul David Taylor, project architect and president of the firm.

“It will be a very interesting experience,” Taylor said.

All of the single-room occupancy rooms, which measure between approximately 250 and 400 square feet, will be outfitted with en suite bathrooms, new plumbing and exhaust systems, said Taylor.

Interior design elements, along with the name of the hotel, will be revealed as the project begins to take shape, Brian Cheripka, vice president of land for iStar, said.

A bar and lounge similar to oceanfront lounge Watermark will be situated on the rooftop of the building with a pergola roof and glass screens that can be opened or closed during times of high wind, Taylor said. Public access to the lounge will be provided from a separate elevator that does not grant entry to hotel room floors.

Event spaces at the ground floor level, in the exterior pool area and on the rooftop will cater to events and celebrations, but the hotel will not contain a full kitchen. This allows outside caterers to be used and encourages patrons of the hotel to go venture out into the city to sample the various restaurants the city already has.

“We’re not trying to complete with the pretty good restaurant scene here in Asbury park. Depending on the development of the people who will move in around, a separate sales space along Kingsley could be turned into a restaurant,” said Taylor.

Exterior landscape elements like ivy will be planted and encouraged to crawl up the building’s exterior with time, Cheripka said.

A total of 123 parking spaces will be provided through surface lots on the block and on-street parking stalls.

Members of the TRC lauded the project before swiftly approving to send the project application on to the city council and planning board for further approvals.

“It’s exciting to see this kind of use,” said Frederick Heyer, one of the city’s planning and development consultants. “It’s the most exciting thing we’ve seen since we’ve been here.”

“This is a big step forward. Everyone says Asbury Park is coming back — well, we are back and this is needed. I’m very happy with it,” ” said Councilman John Moor, who sits on the TRC as a member of the city’s planning board.

“I’m very pleased to see this happening, the idea of another hotel on the waterfront comes up constantly and consistently, so we’re glad to see this,” said planning board Chair Herb Fehrenbach.

“iStar is collaborating with a world class designer and boutique operator to develop a 110 room hotel that we believe will reflect the fabric and spirit of this iconic City.  We are extremely proud of our design team, and look forward to announcing additional details regarding the interior design as we move ahead with the development of this exciting project,” Cheripka said.

The project was unanimously approved with a few recommendations that address the look of an exterior staircase on the rooftop, the details of the areas that will be used for back of house operations, the visibility of heating and cooling vents on the exterior façade, confirmation of on- and off-site parking space counts, and ensuring proper landscape coverage.

The hotel will support other entertainment venues that already exist along the city’s waterfront and make way for several year-round, permanent job opportunities in the city, said iStar project planner Keenan Hughes

Hughes said the last hotel in the city erected from the ground up was the Empress Hotel in the 1960s. the Empress is located at the corner of Ocean and Asbury avenues.

[Above rendering provided by iStar Residential.]

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