The Arden Apartments Austin Review: What 431 Reviews, a Rebrand, and $200/Month in Hidden Fees Tell You Before Signing

If you searched for The Arden and you’re seeing reviews about “Century Stone Hill North,” here’s why: this is the same property. Same buildings, same pipes, same walls, same address at 1316 Town Center Dr in Pflugerville. Highmark Residential took over and renamed it. And this isn’t the first time. The property was previously called The Mansions at Stone Hill, then Century Stone Hill North under First Communities, and now The Arden under Highmark. As a licensed apartment locator (TX #679806) who tracks pricing and screening across 1,000+ Austin-area communities, I’ve seen rebrands like this dozens of times. Sometimes the new name comes with real changes. Sometimes it’s a new sign on the building and nothing else.

So which one is this? That’s what the listing sites won’t tell you. They’ll show you the updated photos and the 1 month free special. They won’t mention the mandatory $200/month in tech fees residents keep flagging, the elevator that was down for two months, or the parking situation that has people leaving notes on each other’s windshields. I’m going to cover all of it.

Quick Facts

The gap between the 4.3 on Apartments.com, the 4.1 on ApartmentRatings, and the 3.7 on Google is worth paying attention to. ApartmentRatings uses verified resident surveys with a 200-character minimum, so the reviews tend to be more detailed. Google gets more quick, frustrated posts. And the 63 Yelp reviews are split between two old listings (“The Mansions at Stone Hill” and “Century Stone Hill North”), which means most people searching The Arden won’t find them. I’ll break down what’s driving all of these numbers below.

Best For / Skip If

Best For

You need a property that works with criminal background issues. The Arden is one of the larger Pflugerville communities that openly says it accepts felony records and allows misdemeanors. That’s not common at a 2016-build property in this price range. Most communities built after 2015 in the $1,000–$1,500 range flat-out reject felonies under 7 years. If you have a background issue and want something newer than a 1990s wood frame complex, this property should be on your list. If you’re not sure how your specific situation stacks up, our free locator service can check you against this property’s criteria before you spend $100 on the application.

You want attached garage parking in Pflugerville under $1,300/month. Several 1BR floor plans at The Arden come with an attached private garage included in the rent. The Tokyo, Los Angeles, Oslo, St. Moritz, Lillehammer, and A9 plans all include garages starting at $1,247/month. That’s hard to beat in Pflugerville.

You want a wide floor plan range. The Arden goes from 652 sqft one bedrooms to 1,917 sqft four bedrooms. If you’re in a 1BR now and might need to upsize without moving communities, that flexibility matters.

You want walkable retail without Austin city prices. Stone Hill Town Center is a 10-minute walk. Cinemark, restaurants, H-E-B. You get the convenience without downtown rent.

Skip If

You’re sensitive to hidden monthly fees. Multiple residents report roughly $200/month in mandatory charges beyond base rent. That includes required AT&T internet, valet trash, and smart home technology fees. When the listing says $1,016/month, your actual bill is closer to $1,216. I’ll break this down in the pricing section.

Noise from upstairs neighbors is a dealbreaker for you. 15 of 128 ApartmentRatings reviews mention noise. With only 2 stories and standard construction, you’re going to hear the people above you. If you’re on the first floor, expect footsteps.

You need reliable elevator access. This is a 2-story building with elevators, but multiple reviews from 2024 and 2025 mention the elevator being down for extended periods. One resident said it was out for over 2 months.

Parking stress gives you anxiety. Even with assigned carports, residents report other tenants and their guests parking in assigned spots. Guest parking fills up fast in the evenings.

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Location Deep Dive

What’s Actually Nearby

The Arden sits at the intersection of Town Center Drive and Heatherwilde Blvd in eastern Pflugerville. The reason people pick this spot? Stone Hill Town Center is a 0.5-mile walk from the property. That puts a Cinemark movie theater, restaurants, and retail within walking distance.

For groceries, H-E-B is about 2 miles south on Heatherwilde Blvd (5-minute drive). Walmart Supercenter is roughly 3 miles west, and Target sits in Stone Hill Town Center Phase II at about 1.9 miles.

Closest hospital? Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Pflugerville, 2.4 miles away. Lake Pflugerville is roughly 4 miles northwest if you want water access.

The nearest MetroRail station (Howard Station) is over 10 miles away. You need a car here. Walk Score is 40.

Commute Math

The commute south toward downtown is where it gets painful. SH 130 and SH 45 give you tollway options, but during rush hour you’re still looking at 40+ minutes to get downtown. (And that’s on a good day.) If your job is in Round Rock, north Austin, or the Samsung campus, this location works. I cover the full breakdown of north suburb apartment options if you want to compare. If Dell is your employer, I ranked the best apartments near Dell’s Parmer campus by actual value. If you commute downtown daily, think twice.

The Neighborhood

Pflugerville’s Stone Hill area is suburban and car oriented. It’s quiet, and residents bring that up all the time. The fence and gate keep it feeling separate from the retail around it.

One thing to know: this is Pflugerville, not Austin. You’re in the Pflugerville ISD school zone (Brookhollow Elementary, Park Crest Middle, Hendrickson High). Property taxes and services run through the City of Pflugerville.

Pricing and True Cost

Floor Plan Overview

Pricing as of August 2026. Net effective column assumes 1 month free on a 12-month lease where the special applies. Specials vary by floor plan. Verify current rates and which plans qualify before applying.

Net Effective Rent Calculation

Let’s run the math on the most popular plan. The A2 Melbourne (1BR/1BA, 804 sqft) at $1,116/month with 1 month free on a 12-month lease:

• Base rent: $1,116/month
• Special: 1 month free on 12-month lease
• Daily multiplier: (365 − 30) ÷ 365 = 0.9178
• Net effective rent: $1,116 × 0.9178 = $1,024/month
• Monthly savings: $1,116 − $1,024 = $92/month

That’s real savings. And if you time your lease right, you can save even more. I wrote about the best months to sign an Austin apartment lease if you have flexibility on move-in dates. But keep reading before you get too excited about the price.

Fee Breakdown

Required Fees (Everyone Pays)

Mandatory Monthly Add-Ons (This Is the Catch)

Residents report roughly $200/month in mandatory charges on top of base rent. These include required AT&T internet service, valet trash, and smart home technology fees. One verified resident on ApartmentRatings wrote: “There were a lot of add-ons to the monthly rent. Which I had no choice of…that additional is about $200.”

This is the single most important number in this review. When you see $1,116/month advertised, your actual monthly bill is closer to $1,316. That changes the math on everything, including whether you qualify based on income.

Optional Fees

True Monthly Cost Scenario

Here’s what a real month looks like for a renter in the A2 Melbourne (1BR/1BA) with one dog:

That’s $225 more than the listed rent. Over 12 months, that’s $2,700 in charges that don’t show up on listing sites.

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Screening Criteria

The Arden’s screening is more flexible than you’d expect from a 2016 build at this price point. They openly say they allow misdemeanors and accept felony records. That alone puts them in a different category.

Income Requirement

Highmark Residential sets the income bar at 2.5x monthly rent. That’s lower than the 3x most Austin-area communities ask for. Call the leasing office at (737) 259-5623 to confirm. Here’s what that looks like:

Important: You qualify based on the full base rent, not the discounted number. So even with 1 month free, you need to show income against the full $1,116 for the A2, not the $1,024 net effective.

And remember those mandatory monthly charges. If the property factors those into the income calculation (some do, some don’t), you’d need 2.5x of roughly $1,316 for the A2, which is $3,290/month or about $39,480/year. Ask the leasing office whether those mandatory charges count toward your income number.

Credit and Background

Here’s how Highmark Residential handles credit:

• 650–850 credit: Standard approval with $500 deposit
• 600–649 credit: Approval with increased deposit or a cosigner
• 550–599 credit: Cosigner required
• Below 550 with negative marks on your report: Likely denial

Highmark uses Experian Vantage 3.0, not FICO. Your Vantage score can differ from the FICO number on your bank app, so check your Experian report before applying.

Denial Triggers

Here’s what usually gets you denied at Highmark Residential properties:

• Active property debt (money owed to a previous landlord)
• Multiple eviction judgments
• Bankruptcy that hasn’t been discharged yet
• Sex offenses on the registry

The Felony and Misdemeanor Angle

Here’s what separates The Arden from most Pflugerville properties at this price point. The property publicly says it accepts felony records and allows misdemeanors. They look at what the charge was and how far back it goes. They go back up to 7 years. Violent crimes, sex offenses, arson or burglary, and drug manufacturing or distribution get longer lookbacks or flat denials.

If you’re dealing with a background issue, this is exactly the kind of property where working with a locator saves you from wasting application fees. I can tell you which Pflugerville communities actually follow through on individual review versus the ones that just put it in the fine print and decline everyone anyway. For more on how felony screening works in Austin, I break it down by property class.

Here’s what separates working with a locator from applying blind: I can tell you if your income, credit, and background will pass The Arden’s screening before you spend $100 finding out. If The Arden looks tight for your situation, I know which nearby communities have more flexibility.

Resident Reviews Decoded

Pattern Analysis

What Residents Like

Staff is the clear positive here. Across 431 reviews on Google and ApartmentRatings, specific people get called out by name over and over. Rene Pujolar on the maintenance team has been mentioned multiple times in 2026 reviews. Micah in leasing got singled out for making move-in painless. Jalisha gets mentioned for patience and helpfulness.

The maintenance team gets solid marks for everyday responsiveness. Most residents report fast turnaround on work orders. One resident who’d been there 5 years said the team comes “right away” for issues. That’s where the property gets its best reviews.

Being able to walk to Stone Hill Town Center comes up a lot. People like not having to get in the car for dinner or a movie.

What Residents Don’t Like

The complaints fall into four buckets.

Fees nobody warned them about. This is the complaint that shows up the most. Residents feel blindsided by $200/month in charges they didn’t know about until after they signed.

Parking is a fight, and the towing is aggressive. Assigned carports get taken by other residents’ guests. After a certain hour, the tow truck won’t come. That leaves you circling for spots in the evening. But the flip side is worse: multiple reviewers on both Google and ApartmentRatings call the towing predatory. One ApartmentRatings reviewer said management will find “ANY reason for overcharging you” and that lost paperwork made it worse.

Management changes create confusion. The property has had at least three management companies since opening in 2016. One resident who’d been there since 2020 noted that management had changed at least twice during their tenancy. The rebrand to The Arden under Highmark Residential is just the most recent change. People who’ve been here a while say quality has dropped with each change.

The finishes don’t age well. Yelp reviews going back years flag laminate flooring that pops up, warping crown molding, and water spots on ceilings. A Google reviewer described floors coming up after just three months. The property looks good on a tour, but several residents who’ve been there a while say the materials just don’t hold up.

Management Response Pattern

Management does respond to reviews on both platforms, usually within 2–4 days. But the responses are templates. They swap in the resident’s name, invite them to call the office, and move on. I didn’t see a single case where a complaint actually got resolved in the review thread.

The Uncomfortable Truth

No listing site will write this section. I’m not trying to kill the deal. I want you to know what you’re signing up for.

The $200/Month That Doesn’t Show Up on Listing Sites

This is where The Arden’s pricing gets dishonest. Mandatory monthly charges for AT&T internet, valet trash, and smart home technology add roughly $200 to your base rent. These are not optional. You cannot opt out. A $1,116 one bedroom is really a $1,316 one bedroom. That’s 18% more than what the listing shows.

When you’re comparing The Arden to other Pflugerville options, make sure you’re comparing total monthly costs, not just base rent. A property advertising $1,250 with no mandatory extra fees is actually cheaper than The Arden’s advertised $1,116.

The Elevator Goes Down and Stays Down

Elevators are listed as an amenity here. But the track record isn’t great. Multiple reviews from late 2024 and early 2025 mention the elevator being out for extended stretches. One resident said over 2 months. Two stories means you can take the stairs, sure. But if you have mobility issues or you’re hauling furniture up to the fourth floor, that’s a problem.

The Rebrand Doesn’t Change the Building

This property has been through at least three name changes since it opened in 2016. The Mansions at Stone Hill became Century Stone Hill North under First Communities, and now it’s The Arden under Highmark Residential. Changing the name doesn’t change the plumbing, the walls, or how it holds up. One resident put it bluntly: “the latest shade of lipstick.” If you’re searching reviews, check all three names. The building’s track record didn’t reset when they changed the sign.

The Flooring Isn’t What It Looks Like

Yelp reviews going back years mention laminate flooring that “isn’t even glued down” and pops up when you walk on it. One Google reviewer (Joseph S.) described floors coming up after three months, along with warping crown molding and water spots on ceilings. The floors look good in photos, but multiple residents say the quality doesn’t last.

Water Has Been a Problem

At least two ApartmentRatings reviewers wrote about flooding. One said roofs have leaked for years and the community flooded during a major rainstorm, with crews tearing out walls and flooring afterward. For a building that opened in 2016, that shouldn’t be happening. Ask the leasing office about the flood history and what’s been fixed.

Ready to Move Forward, or Want to See Alternatives?

Whether The Arden is the right fit or you want to compare it to other Pflugerville options, I can help. My service is free. I’m paid a small referral fee from the property’s marketing budget.

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FAQ

Is The Arden the same as Century Stone Hill North?

Yes. Same property, same address. It’s had three names: The Mansions at Stone Hill, Century Stone Hill North, and now The Arden. Reviews under any of those names apply here.

Does The Arden accept felonies?

The property says yes to felony records. They look at what the charge was and how far back it goes. A 7-year lookback is typical. Contact the leasing office for specifics, or work with a locator who can check your situation first.

What is the income requirement at The Arden?

2.5x monthly rent. For the cheapest 1BR at $1,009/month, that’s about $2,523/month or $30,270/year. Confirm with the leasing office whether the mandatory monthly charges factor into that number.

Are utilities included in the rent?

No. But mandatory monthly charges (AT&T internet, valet trash, smart home) total roughly $200/month on top of base rent. Not optional.

Does The Arden have in-unit washers and dryers?

Yes. All units include in-home washer and dryer.

Is The Arden in Austin or Pflugerville?

Pflugerville. 1316 Town Center Dr, Pflugerville, TX 78660. You’re in the Pflugerville ISD school zone and City of Pflugerville for taxes and services.

What school district is The Arden in?

Pflugerville ISD. Zoned for Brookhollow Elementary, Park Crest Middle, and Hendrickson High School.

How far is The Arden from downtown Austin?

About 18 miles. Roughly 25 minutes outside rush hour, 40–55 minutes during rush hour.

Is The Arden pet friendly?

Yes. Breed friendly with no breed restrictions (except aggressive dogs or dogs with bite history). First pet: $250 deposit + $250 fee. Second pet: $150 deposit + $150 fee. Monthly pet rent is $25 per pet.

Does The Arden have a gate?

Yes. Gated, fenced community. Residents get a sticker for gate access, though some reviews mention the stickers not always working.

The Bottom Line

The Arden has real strengths. 2016 build. In-unit washer and dryer. Attached garages starting at $1,247. Walking distance to Stone Hill Town Center. The fact that they work with felony and misdemeanor backgrounds? That’s a door most properties at this price point won’t open. The maintenance team gets consistent praise, and people call out specific staff by name again and again.

The trade-off is clear: you’re paying more than the listed rent. The mandatory $200/month in extra fees means your actual cost is 15–18% higher than what shows up on Apartments.com or ApartmentRatings. The parking fights, noise between floors, and the elevator going down haven’t gotten better through any of the management changes.

This property makes sense if:

• You have a criminal background issue and need a newer property that won’t auto-decline you
• You want an attached garage in Pflugerville under $1,300/month
• Your commute is north (Round Rock, Samsung, Dell) rather than south (downtown Austin)
• You understand the true all-in cost before signing

This property doesn’t make sense if:

• You’re comparing base rent to other communities without factoring in the $200/month in mandatory fees
• You’re sensitive to noise and would be on the first floor
• You need reliable elevator access for mobility reasons
• You’re commuting to downtown Austin or South Austin daily

My honest take: The Arden is a solid option for the right renter. The screening flexibility is real, and it matters. But you have to go in with your eyes open about the real monthly cost. If someone showed you a 1BR at $1,316/month all-in, would you still feel good about it? If yes, this property deserves a tour.

Need Help?

Two paths here:

Work with me. My service is free to you. I’m paid a referral fee from the property’s marketing budget, and your rent is the same whether you use a locator or not. I can check your income, credit, and background against The Arden’s criteria before you spend $100 on the application. If The Arden doesn’t fit, I know which Pflugerville communities will.

Go solo. Call The Arden directly at (737) 259-5623. Just tell them “Ross Quade from Austin Apartment Team” referred you on your tour and application. Text me at 512-360-0852 when you apply so I can make sure everything’s on track.