3 Journal Square — Local services in Jersey City

Original

5/5 stars for a very smooth leasing experience

3 Journal Square succeeds where other Journal Square and McGinley Square apartment communities leave you wanting.

When it comes to leasing and scheduling a visit, there is front door "future resident" parking and desk concierge. Amenities include a rooftop with a Manhattan view and gym equipped with free weights/squat rack. There is no pool. PATH station is a block away just across JFK.

Ask for Cynthia, she was wonderful to keep up to date on available apartments and helped me secure the best possible rate in the area.

One year update:

I am a current resident of 3 Journal Square and have lived here for over one year. Overall it has been a good experience. The initial leasing experience was quite smooth, though Cynthia and some other staff have since been transferred/turned over. Here are some of the pros and cons of the building that would have been useful to know during my apartment search:

PROS Very responsive maintenance staff, Tracy is the building supervisor. He and his team take care of maintenance issues quickly, often within the same day. Gym amenity: Includes a fixed squat rack, dumbbells to 50lb, hex bar, and a separate activity/yoga/spin room. There used to be community classes, but none in the past 1-2 years. Roof amenity: NYC skyline view, though as of 2022, there is partial obstruction of the midtown Manhattan skyline from new construction and partial obstruction of the lower Manhattan skyline from the second tower of Journal Squared complex. Front desk concierge: Very friendly and professional staff available 24/7. If you are locked out, they can contact the on call building supervisor to unlock your room for a fee of $150. Package room: Used for overflow packages. Package locker accessed by digital key. Journal Square PATH station is across the street: Takes you to NYC World Trade Center in about 11 minutes and NYC 33rd St Station Midtown in about 23 minutes. Dog friendly building with dog park and building dog walker. 2 pet maximum, there is a pet fee. Kid friendly building with outdoor park and playground, which is rare for the area. Bike storage room, locked and accessible by resident key.

CONS No BBQ grills allowed on premises, including rooftop. Parking Garage: the building has a connected parking lot called 2 Journal Square, which is separately and privately owned by SP Plus. This makes any garage issues an incredible headache. There are plenty of parking spaces, though as of 2022, these can fill up around noon now that the Englewood Urgent Care Center has opened within the 2 Journal Square complex. During rainy days, some of the old parking spots leak mineral deposit and corrode car paint on the P3 parking level. I highly recommend if you take an apartment tour to request touring through the garage and you can easily notice dozens of cars with paint damage from the garage. Make note of where not to park. SP Plus has also increased their parking rates, it is currently $211/month before taxes. Greystar Property Management: During the 2022 re-leasing offer, they increased rent over 10% and said they will not be negotiating or making concessions for residents. It was shocking to see the large rent jump and no wiggle room. Community Events: There used to be community events like food vendors, local crafts/soap/baked goods vendors in the lobby, and a comedy show. Ivan the front desk staff organized some of these, but he is no longer with 3 Journal Square.

Overall, 3 Journal Square is a luxury building and held to those standards. The amenities, neighborhood, and maintenance have been great. Administration is professional and welcoming, especially during your initial leasing. Though do not expect the same courtesies during re-leasing periods. Hope this information helps some apartment hunters out there. Jersey City is wonderful, and the Journal Square neighborhood is a fast growing favorite.

3 Journal...

I lived at 3 Journal Square for about 2 and a half years. Overall my stay here was quite pleasant. The staff is kind and very easy to work with. My apartment was spacious; it boasted a full size kitchen and bath. My favorite part of the apartment was the beautiful north-facing view. If you looked to the right, a beautiful view of midtown Manhattan would greet you.

The concierges and the maintenance technicians were very attentive. I was in great hands with both Aiisha and Tracy. Whenever you would come and go, Aiisha would greet you warmly with a smile and engage in a conversation if you had time. Whenever I had something come up in the apartment itself, Tracy would be the man to call. He knows those apartments and the building inside out. Whatever the issue was, he knew exactly how to fix it.

Unfortunately earlier this month I had to move from this property as one issue arose during the later part of my stay. The odor of marijuana infiltrated my bathroom frequently and it would spread to the entire unit. Despite the efforts of the staff, this issue was unable to be resolved and it forced me to move from 3 Journal Square.

I was extremely disappointed with the turn of events because I genuinely enjoyed living there. I really did not want to move. However as time passed, the unit became uninhabitable the odor was that strong. I hope management can track down who is smoking the marijuana in the building. This would allow the residents to experience what a wonderful place...

I love our floor plan and the community is conveniently located near the path train. However, move in was not a ‘stress-free’ experience, to say the least.

First: if they say certified funds, it means only cashiers checks. Don’t get money orders. I know, confusing.

Second: If you’re running late to pick up keys because you misunderstood their meaning, by their choice of words, (hence the first reason) expect an angry call from an office member saying if you’re late, you’re late - no keys!

Third: if said employee, tells you “you can reserve the elevator for an extended period time, just alert concierge” -don’t bother. He’s been told by his property manager that she doesn’t even want you moving things in. So he won’t hold the elevator for you and is asking you stop moving your things in.

Fourth: Move in checklist done by employee prior to you moving in, does not include a check of your appliances being plugged in and working.

Fifth: The gate where you load your things, closes at 8pm. Just in case they forget to tell you too.

Overall, Jordan who showed us the apartment, was legit amazing and very nice! Unfortunately, she was off while we were moving in. So, she wasn’t there to assist us for everything else. Sadly though, you can tell the difference between attitudes prior to leasing and actually moving in. Customer service is their room for...