FARMINGTON – Plans to restore the nearly 150-year-old Old North Church are going forward, after the town’s bid for a $100,000 federal community development block grant moved to the next phase.

“The town got the $100,000 grant we applied for,” Town Manager Richard Davis said Tuesday, “$100,000 has been reserved.”

The Farmington Historical Society applied for a grant in the program’s historic preservation category, society Vice President Taffy Davis said. Municipalities have to administer the federal money, and selectmen voted in December to do that. But even though the money’s been set aside, Taffy Davis said, the society isn’t quite out of the woods yet.

The town and society will need to draw up logistical plans, she said. “I need to learn what the next steps are,” she said.

“Obviously, we’re very, very happy about it.”

The society was required to make a 25 percent match for the federal money, but has raised $100,000 so far, bringing the total to $200,000. That money should pay for phase one of the project, which is a renovation of the first floor of the building, which suffered serious water damage in 2000.

Historical society members hope to put in a new foundation, flooring and heating system, and to update the electrical and plumbing, Davis said.