Tampa Bay Business Journal: December 7, 2012

TAMPA - In this week's Tampa Bay Business Journal segment, editor Alexis Muellner discusses the fervent passion some customers have for certain businesses, a potential new fuel pipeline for Tampa and the growing Encore project.

Bass Pro Shops Outdoors World would like to open a 140,000-square-foot store in Brandon. This week the Hillsborough County Commission postponed a decision until February whether to spend millions of dollars for road upgrades near where the store would go.

Bass Pro Shops is one of a number of iconic brands that have fervent customers. Others include H&M, IKEA, Trader Joe's and Wawa. The Business Journal wonders what makes these businesses have a cult-like following.

According to the Business Journal, Kinder Morgan is considering a new pipeline project for Tampa.

"We are just in the exploratory stages and don't talk about details of projects until we have definitive customer commitments," said Emily Mir, Kinder Morgan corporate communications manager.

Any pipeline project could mean millions of dollars of investment into the area around the Port of Tampa.

The first tenants are about to move into the first Encore project building, the Ella. Construction has started on two more buildings, and a fourth project could break ground early in 2013.

The hope is once residents begin moving in, retail stores will want to sign leases for the commercial part of the development.

For more information on these stories, click on the video player on the left, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9MShMtpCu8 or pick up this week's Tampa Bay Business Journal available on newsstands.