The neighborhood’s abuzz with the imminent arrival of spring, the sound of construction crews and people talking about Moss Landing Harbor Homes as the site’s first home nears completion.

“We’ve started our first batch of houses there on Water Street. We’ve finished most of the infrastructure. We’ve got street lights that we’re waiting for the city to install,” said Jim Wiley, president of Beacon Street Development Company. “It’s just really starting at this point, as the neighborhood is coming to life.”

Moss Landing Harbor Homes is tucked into downtown Washington, framed by Moss Landing townhomes to its east, the North Carolina Estuarium to the west, the historic district to the north and the Pamlico River to the south. The first house only lacks exterior paint and landscaping. A bungalow — a much different design that has been referred to as “adorable”— is in the process of being built next door. Next door to it, the foundation of yet another Harbor Home has appeared. By April, the neighborhood’s first resident, Jayne Meisell, will be moving in, construction of the neighborhood’s first waterfront home will begin and a gathering structure, a pavilion where those of a mind will be able to sit down and watch the river go by, will be built.

“It’s going to be fun period over the next couple or three months,” Wiley said. “There’s going to be a lot of activity out there.”

Within walking distance to downtown Washington shops and restaurants, the waterfront neighborhood ties together the old and new, in that these new homes look remarkably like the homes around them — the ones that have been around for 100 years or so. It was a deliberate plan, to preserve the area’s history while building a new convenient-to-downtown neighborhood.

Wiley recounted a conversation with a man who’d visited Washington recently and stumbled upon the Water Street construction — at first glance, he thought historic homes were being renovated. But a closer look made it clear this was new construction.

“There’s a lot of anecdotal responses that we’re getting, and all of them are that they’re very excited to see it going on,” Wiley said. “That validates the commitment we’ve made to the architecture and all the small details, to make it fit into the historic district.”

Wiley has close family ties to Washington and spent much of his childhood visiting during summers and holidays. He’s said it’s those ties that have instilled in him a great sense of responsibility in developing the downtown property. That can be seen in Beacon Street’s commitment to historic design, as well as to the greater community. An example of that is a social media campaign in which the company has reached out with a “park naming” contest for the narrow, linear parks that will surround pathways down to the waterfront.

“We’ve attempted to engage the community around the naming of the parks. They’re not public parks, but we would love for those to have meaning,” said Justin Hime, Beacon Street’s director of sales and marketing. “We’ve had great response and it’s just a great way for use to engage the community in conversation, which we think is very, very important.”

Beacon Street is compiling a list of suggestions through its Facebook site. Ultimately, they’ll narrow down the field and let the public help select the winners.

“We’re just digging to find something fun that will really give it a good connection to the town,” Hime said.

Fro more information, visit Moss Landing Harbor Homes Facebook page or visit the website at www.mosslandingnc.com.