If you're going to pay this, why would you not live somewhere closer to work in an equally nice building?

You are implying that all these people work downtown and want to live downtown. I guarantee you there are many people who make this money that do not work downtown.

As I've said in another comment, I used to be an accountant for a big property management company in Chicago. I used to see hundreds of applications for luxury apartments. I was able to see these people's ages, marriage status, family size, income, and place/address of work.

There is a huge amount of people who want to live in brand new luxury high rises not located in or near downtown. The idea of living in River North or Gold Coast or South Loop does not appeal to these people at all.

What they want is to live in in an "outer" neighborhood, and in this case one that's close to the park and lake with a great view an luxury amenities.

And as I've said in another comment, most of the high-rise stock in Lakeview East is relatively old. Most of the buildings were constructed in the 60s/70s, so brand new luxury high-rises are rare. It commands a higher price because of this.

This building will have no issue filling its units. People who are moving in do not see it as wasteful. They do not want to live closer to downtown.