In a stunning acknowledgement on Thursday, one of the developers of a planned mega-mall in western Orange County said hopes for that much-anticipated retail project were popped by the lingering economic malaise gripping the nation.

The setback is rather like the process in the children’s game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. For those pinning their hopes on a huge infusion of sales taxes and hefty employment gains to pep up the local economy and reduce soaring property taxes, the target was missed this time. But other chances await.

Roger Perry, a member of Buckhorn Road Associates, the coalition that was working on the 1.1-million-square-foot Buckhorn Village, said the group is exploring other retail, office and distribution center options. Those might not sound as glamorous as a shiny new retail center that had the potential to spin off more businesses and break a longstanding logjam of officialdom’s recalcitrance to seek commercial development in Orange County. Still, they possess the potential to add jobs and to plant a toehold in the economic development garden.

That said, news also is breaking that Tanger Factory Outlet Centers has broken ground on a 317,000-square-foot retail center with 80 stores on the Alamance County side of Mebane. One can almost feel a whoosh of more retail dollars being whisked out of Orange County.

It’s too soon to tell if the Greensboro-based outlet firm may have locked up all the potential for retail in that Alamance-Orange border area, or whether it may stir interest among other developers to come to the Orange County side to capture part of the shopping synergy. But Orange County’s elected officials and developers could find it to be tough sledding for future economic development if they don’t commit to getting in the game.