The value of the block of land at the centre of the former Land Development Agency's Fairvale land deal has risen almost 60 per cent in just two years since a Canberra valuer bought it.
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And it could rise another $20,000, if the ACT Planning Authority approves a development application to allow the new owners, Steve and Cia Flannery, to start a farm tourism venture on the site.
The Fairvale land deal was one of several rural lease purchases by the now-defunct Land Development Agency examined in a recent ACT Auditor-General's report, which also found no clear justification was made for why the former agency allowed the land to be subdivided so the valuer could buy the block.
The report found the block Mr Flannery bought was potentially more developable than the dog-leg-shaped block the agency bought, and that it now appeared to be "potentially strategically important" given its Cotter Road frontage among other reasons.
"This site, compared with the one purchased by the former Land Development Agency, has far less of
the NUZ4 River Corridor zoned land which may impede development yield," the audit reads.
The block is also adjacent to the Stromlo Forest Park - land the government proposes to develop into a significant outdoor recreation and accommodation precinct to host large sports events like mountain biking.
Titles records show the couple bought the block for $2.35 million in February 2016, though a new valuation of the land lodged with the development application shows it is now estimated as worth $3.77 million, a tidy 60 per cent rise in value in two years.
The valuation also shows the land would be worth $3.79 million, should the lease variation to allow the farm tourism venture be approved, meaning if approved, the owners would likely have to pay the $20,000 different to vary the lease.
The development application, which lodged on June 12, proposes varying the current lease to add "farm tourism" as a permissible use on the block's rural zone, which would not affect a section of the block zoned as river corridor land.
It also does not propose any broader changes to the block, any further lease variation or actual building works, though it may include some "outdoor recreation facilities", excluding motor sports, a racecourse, stadium or showgrounds.
The development application also said the property would remain as a farm, and changing the lease to allow the tourism venture would not adversely increase traffic on Cotter Road.
The application is open for public comment until July 27.
Mr Flannery did not respond to calls for comment for this report.
