The Heritage At Hillcrest

Literally have had almost no problems the entire year and a half I’ve lived here. Was worried when I first moved in about the area around the complex but as it turns out I always feel safe and have never had any problems with crime. Staff is the absolute best — all the ladies in the front office and wildly friendly and super helpful! Could not have had a better experience with my first place in Austin.

For the life of me, I don’t know why I didn’t run across this place when I was searching and searching for somewhere to live… but I am sure happy I stumbled upon it serendipitously!
I did not have a regular experience in moving into an apartment which had been flipped after the previous renter moved out as I was moving into an already inhabited apartment. But, I have found that when I do notice issues in the apartment, the maintenance staff is quick to repair the situation. That is immeasurably important, as many renters probably already know.
Also, the leasing office staff is friendly and helpful. I have spoken to Jessica a lot, and she’s always very pleasant and eager to help remedy any unpleasant situations I have encountered since moving in.
There are three pools (though they are closed for the Fall & Winter… which confuses me, because it’s still hot!!), several laundry rooms, and a fitness center and business center. Oh, and if you’re feeling like you need a little pick me up… stop in the Leasing office! They almost always have cookies for you and they have coffee and tea, too.

I’ve lived at this apartment complex for four years, and the current management company (BSR) and staff have completely transformed the Heritage at Hillcrest. They’ve put a lot of work into the grounds, redoing landscaping, painting, repairing the pools, replacing fences, etc. They’re constantly looking out for ways to improve the residents’ experience, and I’m glad to call this place home.
Since I first moved here, the nearby Mueller development has exploded, and I feel lucky to have found an affordable apartment in such a desirable area. (It’s getting impossible to find a place like this in Central Austin!)
I also have a give a shout-​out to the staff, which is one of the most friendly and professional groups I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with. There are always fresh cookies, coffee, and even pet toys up for grabs in the office, and they’re always quick to respond to maintenance requests, questions, etc. Debbie, Kristi, and Jessica in the main office are the best!

I have to submit another review for this place! After living here for three years now, the care and service-​quality of the staff have only gotten better, as well as the interiors of the units. They handle any of my service requests with importance, and they are updating the floors and window treatments of each unit! The staff here is good enough to work at ANY high-​end residence, as I’ve witnessed Alex’s promptness and cleanliness at work; he’s a great guy, does a fine job, and is a worthy of greater things. I’m glad he’s the one caring for my apartment building. Jessica is one of the most friendly and caring Leasing Agents I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing; I’ve never felt like I was just a tenant or an apartment number with her. She stays abreast of all events concerning the complex and is very attentive to all our concerns. Kristy and Debbie are just as awesome and I know for a fact that many other persons living here feel the same about everyone and love living here as much as I do!

Honestly, I love these guys. I’m moving out at the end of July only because we wanted to finally get a house. Otherwise, I’d probably have stayed here for a couple more years. Maintenance is super friendly and quick, the office staff ladies are all ridiculously sweet and seem like they’ll bend over backwards to get you what you need, and the actual units are very nice for the cost. Plus, they bake cookies practically every single day. Who doesn’t like cookies (besides weird people)? I’m sorry to be leaving. The only negative thing I have to throw in here is that, due to the fact that my building is closest to Cameron Road and my balcony overlooks the car wash, the people who use that car wash ²⁴⁄₇ can be pretty irritating all hours of the night. I’d sometimes feel the bass from their car speaker systems in my couch from the living room. That, however, is not the apartment complex’s fault. It was just a bummer in general. Everything else about living here has rocked. :)

The place is definitely affordable. It’s around $ 900 for a 2 – 1, which is around $ 200 more than it used to be per month, but that’s Austin for you.
The apartments are pretty spacious and I have never had any major maintenance issues. When I did have a maintenance issue (the dishwasher not draining) it was fixed the next business day.
Management is very solid. Never had any problems with them, and I’ve only ever known them to be courteous.
The location… the location is interesting. It’s about a mile from the Mueller shopping center, and it’s extremely close to I-​35 and 183 so getting around town is very easy. If you want to go north on 183, though, the ramp from I-​35 is frequently and unpredictably backed up to the point of being a parking lot, so keep that in mind for timing your commute.
The other thing about the location is that it’s kind of scary on the Cameron road side. There are homeless people wandering around at all times of day and they are quick to hit you up for cash if you happen to be walking around. There’s also a halfway house TWO BLOCKS AWAY and you’ll occasionally get letters in the mail from APD notifying you that some high-​risk serial rapist is going to be living right next to you. So that’s fun. That being said, the area is quickly gentrifying and there are definitely a lot of places in Austin that are far worse.
Overall it’s not a bad place to live. They do have hardwood floors in some units, as well, so I’d ask for one of those units (because who doesn’t love hardwood floors).

My roommate and I chose this place because of it’s affordability, square footage and location! Our place is HUGE! I work downtown and it’s only a 15 minute drive WITH traffic. I would renew my lease here if it wasn’t for my life change to Houston. No bugs, SUPER friendly staff (they always have fresh cookies in the leasing office, good tea & coffee choice as well, and dog treats for your little fluffy friends!) maintenance is always available, parking is never an issue, neighbors are friendly and quiet and I have ZERO complaints.

For the money, it’s hard to beat. I was concerned about the location at first, but we never had any problems or heard of anyone else having problems while there. One of the ladies in the office can be pretty rude, but everyone else is very nice and helpful. The rude one was out for a long time while we lived there, so that was a plus. The others were the nicest management I’ve ever dealt with. Our upstairs neighbors were terrible, but that’s not the complex’s fault. They actually played golf inside of their apartment. Nobody can plan for that. This isn’t quite five stars, but more like a 4.5. Our A/​C never worked properly (one bedroom was freezing while the other was always 10 – 15 degrees warmer with no A/​C) even after multiple attempts at fixing it. Also, by the end of the year, one of our bathroom faucets was leaking a bit. But everything else was fine. They have free cookies and coffee in the office every day. The workout room isn’t huge, but it has pretty much anything you’d need to work out with. The pools are well maintained. They have more free coffee, free WiFi, and free printing in the computer lab above the office. Comparable apartments elsewhere cost twice as much. Great place for students.

One star for affordability. Minus four stars for everything else. Management changed while we lived here for a little under a year, but it barely got better than from where it was when we got there. Nobody seems to be in charge of the place a lot of times. I would go in to the office during normal office hour times and they would always somehow be at lunch! At least they can keep track of your packages, but it takes a couple days to even get it because nobody is there half the time when the office is said to be open.
We had perpetual spiders and sugar ants in our unit in Building B the entire time we were there. They say pest control comes every Tuesday, but one time they came when I was home and all they do when you make a complaint is spray something like Raid along some corners. We complained a lot. Still never fixed the problem. Minus one star.
And here is the minus 3 stars. imagine it is July 2013 in Austin, Texas and it is Saturday and you are having some guests over for dinner and you suddenly realize how freaking hot it is in your apartment. You crank down the A/​C to no avail and realize… the A/​C is completely broken and blowing out warm air. It is only 6pm so you’d think there is some sort of emergency (and this is a bonafide emergency) hotline that you could call and someone would come at the very least the next day to fix your A/​C. NOPE. Turns out when they switched management, they never set up a voicemail and emergency hotline correctly. We were without A/​C in July for 2 days. They would not comp us anything. Lady bought me off with a free carpet cleaning (she said worth $ 50 so it was probably $ 20) and she was kind of nice about, but this is the minus 3 stars… we never used the carpet cleaning and just moved out and it is awesome.

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!!
I have lived here since March 2012 and the management has since changed in 2013. I preferred the previous management, but the new one isn’t terrible. For whatever reason though, before I moved in I couldn’t see the actual one that was going to be rented to me (I should have demanded to see it but I was desperate). I was shown a much larger apartment, though I was told that mine would closely similar. I was sorely disappointed to find out that when I got my keys my bathroom was much smaller (hardly any storage for this product slut) than I was led to believe. I also did not have a pantry in the kitchen! These things were disappointing, but I was just happy to be living alone for the first time ever, only being 1.5 miles away from where I was before, and it was quite the deal. I leased a ²⁄₁ — 793 sq ft for $ 699 (WHAT A STEAL!) which looked brand new including black appliances and laminate floors in the entrance, bathroom, kitchen, good carpet. The living room is LARGE and so is larger bedroom. I LOVE my huuuuge walk in closet (this is must!) and compared to the other places around town which are much smaller, or way south or way too north this was perfect for me. I wanted to stay central, so I braved east of 35. And I liked it.
Then there’s also this thing about safety. Personally I have never felt in danger or unsafe here. I love that when I walk out of my apartment it is not just a sea of other apartments, they really keep up with the landscaping (at least on B side they do).
PROS:
–Did I mention location?
–Speedy maintenance requests
–New appliances
–CHEAP!
–Gentrification is taking over the area (thanks Mueller)
–Within walking distance to 2 bars (Nomad, Carousel)
–Capital Plaza at your feet
–EVERYTHING with Mueller in its name within walking/​biking distance
–Gas stations within walking distance, along with Moreliana’s (Mexican grocery store) for your forgotten last minute but very necessary mixers)
–Renewed the lease 1 year later and rent only went up $ 20
–Large master bedroom
–Large walk in closets
–Very quiet complex
–Seriously less than a mile from the new HEB at Mueller
–Nice neighborhood to stroll through for walks if you go East
CONS:
–Prices are going up again and will continue to due to new management
–The horrible bird families in the trees pooping on your car constantly
–Vagrants (and usually trashed) hang at the Premo’s gas station in front of the complex ALL the time
–Washer/​Dryers are constantly not working properly at on site laundry
–High crime area, there’s always cops nearby arresting someone, SIRENS can be heard often from inside
–EMS is always at the Church’s Chicken across the street because of people eating too much friend chicken, no doubt
–Cars get broken into at the complex and we get a flyer alerting us about it every time (look, just don’t be stupid and leave valuables in plain sight or come home at 3am, its simple common sense).
I’ll be moving out in a couple months and I’ll always remember my time living in the ’23 and will totally miss it. But I won’t miss smelling fried chicken every time I come home (thanks Church’s).

I’ve lived here since September of 2012 and have no complaints. The rent is affordable. I’ve never felt unsafe walking around. Nothing has been stolen off my balcony (and I live in a corner apartment, first level, closest to the Cameron Rd intersection). I’ve never seen or heard of a mugging or apartment break-​in (though several cars have been broken into in the parking lot). The property managers always send out notices when a car is broken into (I assume they would do the same for muggings or shots fired within the complex). Though maybe I am just being naïve. While many homeless people frequent the surrounding gas stations, I have never seen one in the complex. The maintenance staff is OUTSTANDING. The complex was bought a few weeks ago and is currently undergoing a staff change. I am so so sad to hear that Amanda is leaving (she was an amazing office staffer), but I am hopeful that the new management company will keep things at the same standard.

The rent here is decently affordable considering the rates just across the highway. In fact, this place was introduced as a «diamond in the rough» in an up and coming neighborhood. The proximity to grocery and shopping centers is convenient, however the proximity to crime is a huge turn off. It’s a large city, so you will hear sirens at night in most places, however the amount of times you see large amounts of police and caution tape in this neighborhood is quite exceptional. In general, the people that live here are pretty normal, and I will say that in the last few months it seems like the resident crowd has gotten more friendly and less scary. Everything was decently mediocre until the apartment was broken into one night. The back door was kicked in and the apartment was sacked. Three hours after calling 911, the police finally arrived. Luckily the apartment complex has emergency maintance and security, which are both quite helpful. The complex itself is not the problem, its the area. I would suggest that this complex install cameras, hire patrol officers to walk to premises, and that they change the locks of each apartment after resident move out. I say this becaue in the same night of the break in, it was discovered that the moved out residents across the way had retained a key and were drinking and living in the apartment as transients, which tends to attract more crime. Crime does happen everywhere, but the amount of residents robbed at gunpoint, homes and cars broken in to definitely warrant a few security measures. If you move here, I suggest having some sort of security system installed, especially as the thief in question had evidently been watching the coming and going habits of residents around us. Also, this is not the kind of place where you want to leave anything on your balcony, other than maybe a plastic chair or two. The homeless in the area are often attracted to porches where beer bottles are left, as these can be turned in for change. Just be careful, the area is not the safest. Although I’m told the «violent crime» rate is rather low, people are known to get mugged.