Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced that the city recently reached $1.65 billion in housing starts for 2015, 138 percent higher than the $692 million in housing starts at the same time last year.

As of June 26, there were 2,461 units permitted, compared to 1,759 units permitted as of June 30, 2014 – a 40 percent increase. This also marks a 184 percent increase over production rates in 2013, when only 1,333 units of housing were permitted by June 26.

To facilitate the mayor’s plan to produce 53,000 new housing units by 2030, the city’s Inspectional Services Department (ISD) has streamlined its permitting processes, including the installation of digital kiosks, extended Zoning Board of Appeals hearing hours and the establishment of a subcommittee to expedite certain appeals processes.

“I am extremely pleased by the efforts that have taken place across city agencies to ensure that we are able to meet our housing goals,” Walsh said in a statement. “The only way that we will be able to sustain the growth of our city, and our workforce, is by staying focused on our goals and streamlining our processes.”

Coinciding with the release of these numbers is a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Quincy Heights housing development in Dorchester, attended by Walsh, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Julián Castro and the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation. Quincy Heights is the product of a $20 million HUD Choice Neighborhood Initiative Implementation grant – one of just five of its kind nationwide.