Boston, and Dorchester along with it, is finally seeing soaring investment and growth, Mayor Martin Walsh told members of the business community and other elected officials at the mayor’s annual Dorchester Board of Trade luncheon on Tuesday.

The board is a “great neighborhood institution,” Walsh noted to the dozens seated in Florian Hall in Neponset as he cited a number of neighborhood milestones in recent weeks: Cedar Grove Civic Association’s 80th anniversary, and the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace and the education program Project DEEP both are marking their 20th years this month.

Like the neighborhood in which its members work, the Dorchester business community balances consistency and change as Boston seeks to carve out its place as a center for innovation, Walsh said. Strong neighborhood groups make the city resilient during difficult times, he said, and shore it up in preparation for good ones.

“Certainly, we’re experiencing some of those good times right now,” he said. “Boston is in an unprecedented time of growth… we are currently in the third largest growth spurt in the history of Boston.”

He laid out the numbers: $7.3 billion worth of development, including 7,900 units of housing and 4.5 million square feet of commercial space.

This is in a city of an estimated 656,000 people whose population is expanding quickly and likely to outpace the 700,000 population projected by 2030.  “It shows the desire to move into the city of Boston,” he said.

While growth alone may have been the goal two years ago, Walsh said, the city needs to determine what Boston boom times should look like going forward. Housing costs are under “tremendous pressure,” he added. “What we have to do, as we continue to move forward, we have to do more than grow and build,” he said. “We have to shape our growth. We have to look and really see who and how do we want to be as a city.”

Major projects in the neighborhoods, such as the DOT Block and South Bay Town Center, are set to join the slightly older Carruth Building and the forthcoming Ashmont TOD2 project as community landmarks.
At the same time, Walsh said, city-wide endeavors have brought in major business opportunities. He discussed GE’s planned move to Boston, as well as the installation of Verizon FiOS through the city. “GE is coming because they know that Boston is a friendly city, Boston’s a city they can do business in.”

Walsh called on the small business community to be a partner to the city in envisioning its future. A new Office of Small Business Development is in the works, he said, as is a small business center and greater capital and resource assistance for existing businesses and entrepreneurs.