Former Crown land on Murphy St, adjacent the US Embassy, was sold three times in 2018 and is understood to have tripled in price when it was bought by the embassy. But an embassy spokeswoman would not confirm how much the US State Department paid to acquire the land, which borders the embassy compound on Murphy St.SUPPLIED/WELLINGTON CITY COUNCIL The land at 66 Murphy St was bought by the US Embassy in November to ensure its security requirements were met. ROSS SETFORD The US Embassy held a license for land in Murphy St from the Crown. Under the rules of disposing of Crown Land, the agency was required to give the relevant iwi "first right of refusal" to the land. The Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust, which represents a number Wellington iwi, accepted and paid $1.4m for it.

Source: Stuff February 04, 2019 03:22 UTC