Bronx churches have plans to develop unused properties to provide affordable housing.

St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Williamsbridge is one of five houses of worship that has partnered with a nonprofit to build affordable housing on property that includes its parking lot.

St. Luke's has two locations for future housing: the entire lot in Williamsbridge and a second, larger property on East 219th Street where its former church building has sat empty for close to three years. Both areas will be developed from the ground up for affordable housing.

The housing effort is an initiative under the city's New York Land Opportunity Program and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

Some of the church land will also be used to build more space for community programs like food banks.

The five churches will be working with a housing specialist form the program to evaluate their land and determine what should be built there. The next step is to find a developer to transform the unused property into affordable housing.