Vaughan and Oshawa both experienced record-setting years in construction in 2017.

According to figures released by the city of Vaughan, there was a total of $1.97B in construction value on 5,328 permits issued in 2017. That number far surpasses 2016 figures, which had a value of $1.2B.

“The City’s growth in the last eight years has been remarkable. These outstanding construction values represent a strong economy, a destination of choice and a prosperous place to live,” Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua said in a news release.

For Vaughan, 2017 was in many ways a transformative year. In December, the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station opened, connecting the city to downtown Toronto. Construction on the three-tower Transit City condo project near the subway entrance is expected to begin in 2018, and several more large projects are in the planning stages.

“The year ahead will be filled with just as much optimism and promise — the best is yet to come,” Bevilacqua said.

In Oshawa, the city set 10 building records in 2017, including surpassing $600M in construction value for building permits for the first time, according to an Oshawa news release.

Oshawa issued 2,286 building permits in 2017, for a total of $614M in construction value, a 35% increase over the previous year.

Of that total, there was $484M in residential construction value, $60.2M in governmental/institutional construction value, $43M in commercial construction value and $27.7M in industrial construction value.

In housing, 1,754 new residential units were created in Oshawa last year. They included 624 townhouses, 503 apartment units, 470 single-detached, 113 accessory dwelling units and 44 semi-detached homes.

“2017 was a very exciting and positive year for the City of Oshawa,” Oshawa Councillor and Development Services Committee Chair John Aker said in the statement.

“In 2018, this economic activity will bring many opportunities and some challenges for the citizens of our community. City staff will continue to process the received Development Applications, currently valued at over $5B.”

Other records set by Oshawa last year included most permits issued (2,286), highest residential construction value in one month ($130M in July), and the most permits issued in one month (626 in July), surpassing the previous record by 271 permits.