The Greater Issaquah Chamber of Commerce has updated their Board of Directors for 2018-2019, and we are pleased to have Kari Magill stepping into the role of Chairperson.
Kari Magill is Chief Executive Officer of Rowley Properties, her family’s real estate management and development company. A native of the Issaquah/Bellevue area, Kari is the 3rd generation of the Rowley family to lead the business. With deep roots from doing business for over 60 years in Issaquah and creating many friendships along the way, Rowley Properties has developed a strong reputation for visionary leadership and community stewardship.
Based in Issaquah, WA, Rowley Properties owns, develops and manages approximately 80 acres of real estate along I‐90 in Issaquah. This includes 67 buildings representing almost a million square feet in a wide assortment of uses – commercial, residential, retail, light manufacturing, storage and hospitality. Rowley Properties has approximately 1400 tenants, many of whom are incubator businesses and entrepreneurs.
After studying at the University of Washington, Kari began her career in industrial engineering – interning for Procter and Gamble and then working for Physio‐Control before she formally entered the family business and real estate world in 1993. Over the years, Kari worked in all facets of the business before becoming CEO in 2007. Her flair for design and background in manufacturing, management science, technology, systems and value engineering give her a unique perspective when it comes to creating great places, building community, and improving buildings and operations. Among Kari’s more recent accomplishments were working with her team and the City to negotiate a 30 year development agreement. This partnership will enable Rowley’s neighborhoods to transition in a thoughtful way over time to demonstrate the principles of the Cascade Agenda – creating a denser, more livable, walkable community that celebrates the unique and special character of Issaquah. The Homewood Suites Seattle/Issaquah® hotel and the new streets that border it (Hyla Avenue and Skipper Way) are the first projects to be delivered within this new framework.
Kari believes in giving back to her community and has served on several boards, including the executive board of the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce. Currently she is past chair and on the Executive Committee of the Eastside Baby Corner Board of Directors, serves on the executive board of the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce, is a member of the Capital Campaign Committee for Hopelink’s “Campaign for Lasting Change” and of the Swedish Issaquah Community Advisory Committee as well as the Community Development Roundtable. She was a delegate to the East King County Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition for ten years and in 2005 was named one of the “40 Under 40” by the Puget Sound Business Journal.