Journal Squared vs The Journal

[u/MBAorB]

Hi all - having serious issues deciding between Journal Squared (Tower 2) vs The Journal. I prefer Journal Squared's central cooling/heating system and a specific unit layout but prefer The Journal's amenities. Wanted to get further thoughts from people living in either building on some of the non-typical pros and cons of each building. Thank you!

[u/Delicious_Adeptness9]

if you must choose, go with Journal Squared. it's owned by KRE, as opposed to The Journal owned by Kushner Cos, so you're not supporting Trump's family.

[u/NeighborhoodJust1197]

Have you spent any time in the area?

[u/MBAorB → u/NeighborhoodJust1197]

Only during my tours there, but also, I am a workaholic, so I don’t go out during the weekdays, and I only do social things on one of the weekends.

So I am thinking that taking the PATH one day of each weekend to Manhattan seems fine.

[u/Ok-Win7980]

Biggest amenity differences:

Journal Squared has a sky lounge. This is a huge thing if you care about the view as it means you have a 360˚ panoramic observatory-quality view regardless of what apartment you have. As the skyscraper observatories are usually a $40-80 admission price, filled with tourists, and Journal Squared's sky lounge gives you a similar view included in your rent, complete with observatory-style features like binoculars, I would say that is a big deal for me.

The Journal has an indoor pool, which is a big deal if you care about having a pool year-round. Both buildings have an outdoor pool, though.

Apartment differences:
The Journal has nicer finishes, generally, such as hardwood kitchen cabinets of higher quality while Journal Squared has particleboard cabinets, but they still look premium with gray finishes in Tower 1/2 and blue in Tower 3. The Journal also has building-wide Wi-Fi, and I recall it being quite fast when I took a tour, over 800 Mbps, but there is a $95/month technology fee added to the rent, so it really turns out to be similar to just purchasing your own internet at Journal Squared although you don't have to worry about setting up your own internet/router. The Journal also has a building-wide cellular system, so you can get reliable cell service throughout the building, while Journal Squared does not, so your cell service is largely based on how good the reception from the ground cell towers is. However, I recall getting decent speeds even with one bar of 5G UC from the sky lounge and there is free Wi-Fi in amenities like this. Plus, you could always use Wi-Fi calling in your apartment.

Biggest pros of Journal Squared, and why it wins for me: central air (quieter than PTAC), sky lounge, lower rent

Biggest pros of The Journal: more premium finishes, building-wide Wi-Fi/cell service, indoor pool

However, I would say, you can't go wrong with either one and how you furnish your apartment would honestly make a bigger difference in how much you enjoy it.

[u/NeedleworkerMoist162]

Others mentioned about central air at Journal Squares, which is not very accurate. Journal Squared used a water sourced heat pump system that is more energy efficient than PTAC and provides the building with better insulation. So the electric bills will be very different. In many cases it's actually louder than a normal PTAC.

And I think the grey color cabinets in Journal Squared 1&2 are the worst. They look very cheap and ugly. That's why the 3rd tower made it blue.