[Sam Hill]

Here's my theory as to Austin outpacing Denver in terms of new skyscrapers:

Whatever part of Austin's downtown that is zoned for skyscrapers is a red-hot real estate market. Denver's CBD OTOH, is lukewarm. Denver's downtown neighborhoods that have been red hot lately are zoned for low/mid-rise. If say Union Station or Golden Triangle were zoned for high-rise, we'd be looking at a different skyline.

Also, as explosive as Denver's growth has been, it pales in comparison to Austin. No city in the country has been growing like Austin. It's simply a hotter real estate market.

Anyway, that's my totally uneducated theory.