ALLENDALE, MI - Grand Valley State University will put a parking lot on an 18-acre plot of land along Lake Michigan Drive, property that the school purchased Friday for $1.2 million.

The parking lot, about halfway between GVSU’s campuses in Allendale and Grand Rapids, will be serviced by The Rapid public-transit system, which a growing number of students use to commute to class, said University Counsel Tom Butcher.

The purchase is also needed because existing park and ride lots in the area are often filled beyond capacity, Butcher said. As of now, about 600 students on a daily basis park at a nearby Meijer and fire station before catching the bus, the university said.

“It will be very sustainable, because people can find a convenient place to park,” Butcher said.

The $1.2 million price tag on the land was a fair price, the university said. That’s about $69,000 per-acre.

“We saw some other properties around the Standale area that approached $100,000 per-acre,” Butcher said. “So it’s a huge bargain for the university.”

Property records show the parcel, at 3059 Lake Michigan Dr. NW, is formerly owned by Philip Versluis, and has an estimated market value of about $788,400.

It’s adjacent to Lincoln Square, an independent senior living facility. An employee at the facility declined to comment on the transaction, referring all questions to its corporate headquarters. A spokesman at Holiday Retirement, Lincoln Square’s corporate parent, also declined to comment on the potential impact of traffic in the area.

Butcher said there aren’t firm plans on when development on the property will begin, but it could start by 2015. The total number of parking spaces the lot will have also hasn’t been decided.

The possible addition of The Rapid’s 12-mile "Laker Line" between Grand Valley State University and downtown Grand Rapids on Lake Michigan Drive could bring federal dollars to cover some costs associated with construction of the lot, Butcher said.

Brian McVicar covers education for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at bmcvicar@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter