"I know there's been some discussion that we haven't met with them, or we wouldn't, or we have no interest, and none of those statements have been true or factual," he said.

Miner said that last fall and earlier this year the store told Hampton that it was not looking into building just yet.

"With the new Wal-Mart Supercenter opening at the Meadows in American Fork, coupled with the new Macey's store in Pleasant Grove, and with the Kohler's expansion that he had done in the last year up in Highland, it was premature for us to be taking a look at another store in the marketplace," Miner said. "We needed to give it a little bit more time, so that was really the reason why we had not spent a lot of time on it earlier."

And Kohler may still decide that the market will not support another store.

"The first step is to do the market feasibility study to determine if two grocery stores in that close of a proximity (Highland and Cedar Hills are neighboring cities) make sense," Miner said. "At the same time we're doing that, we'll work closely with Rimrock construction on the site plan and be doing the financial analysis. There's nothing that's binding for Kohler's on this project. We're just heading down the road and gathering information."

Miner said the store has not made any agreements with the developer, and Hampton remains free to pursue other interested parties. But he did point out that Kohler is willing to commit resources to fund a market study.

Miner and Rimrock expect the study to be complete near the end of July, and, if all goes well, the due diligence process would begin in August. Another party that has expressed interest in the site, Harvest Fresh Natural Foods, has yet to make any agreement with Rimrock.

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E-mail: mdecker@desnews.com