A special meeting of Manchester's Planning Board will be held Monday night as members begin to hear testimony for a proposed multifamily apartment complex in the town center zone. 

Board members and Harvey York, attorney for applicant Presidential Gardens LLC/Kenneth Pizzo Jr., agreed at a regular meeting earlier this month to hold a special meeting on Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Complex courtroom to expedite the hearing process. 

"It's obvious from the size of this application that it's going to take more than one meeting," said board attorney Edward Liston at the time. "So let's get started."

The apartment complex, which is proposed to be built on a 5-acre tract off land diagonally across Route 37 from the Municipal Complex on Colonial Drive, is planned to have 519 units and is not age-restricted, according to board secretary Marianne Borthwick. 

In May, the Township Council approved changing Chapter 245 of township code to allow for the zoning of multifamily residences in the town center zone after they said that the area was not attractive to business. The Planning Board gave its support to the rezoning in early May. 

A multifamily development on the land would yield the most potential tax revenue, even more than a big box retail store, said township planner Tom Thomas in May. 

York agreed to give proper notice of the special meeting, which will cost the applicant a $2,000 fee, according to Borthwick. The agenda is available through the Planning Board's website.