Land has been purchased in eastern Jackson County that could clear the way for the merger of two Catholic high schools.</p><p>The tract in Lee&#x92;s Summit could be the spot for a $30 million facility that would replace St. Mary&#x92;s High School in Independence and Archbishop O&#x92;Hara High School in southeast Kansas City.</p><p>The 80 acres could be home to a yet-unnamed school that could hold 600 students and possibly open in the fall of 2015, a Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph official confirmed in an interview Saturday.</p><p>That site is near Lee&#x92;s Summit Road and Strother Road, south of Lee&#x92;s Summit Municipal Airport near the Kansas City border.</p><p>A decision hasn&#x92;t been made to build a new school and close St. Mary&#x92;s and O&#x92;Hara. But the diocese&#x92;s director of strategic planning, Steve Hilliard, said the availability of a sizable piece of land at a bargain price made the purchase worthwhile. The land sale was closed in late December, he said.</p><p>&#x93;You don&#x92;t see 80-acre tracts come available that often,&#x94; he said. </p><p>The diocese purchased about 54 acres for $2.6 million and was given a contiguous piece of property as a donation from the same seller. It worked out to about 75 cents per square foot, half the cost for other available pieces of land in the area, Hilliard said.</p><p>The diocese has hired a consulting firm to study the feasibility of raising money to build the new school.</p><p>&#x93;We have made an investment in our young people for their future,&#x94; Hilliard wrote in announcing the land purchase on the diocese&#x92;s online &#x93;Insider Letter.&#x94;</p><p> &#x93;Obviously the acquisition of land is no small commitment but it is a visible step. &#x85; The next steps in planning for a new diocesan high school, however, will take some time.&#x94;</p><p>A study conducted for the diocese in 2010 recommended placing a new high school with easy access to Interstate 470, Missouri 291 and Missouri 350.</p><p>In 2004, the diocese bought land near Interstate 70 and Missouri 291 to relocate St. Mary&#x92;s High School. Hilliard said that land will now be sold or put to some other use.</p><p>O&#x92;Hara&#x92;s current enrollment is about 360 students, and roughly 120 attend St. Mary&#x92;s. Hilliard said the opening enrollment of the combined high school might start at 550 because new schools tend to draw more students.