Retail was already hitting before the snow hit

This year’s flood of Clark County retail store openings is expected to slow to less than a trickle in 2009, according to recent reporting by Cami Joner. She writes:

"The about-face could leave more than $600 million worth of local retail projects on hold, as the local and national economies grapple with recession that threatens to cripple all but the hardiest of retailers. Projects on hold in Clark County include everything from a $20 million Home Depot in Battle Ground to a $215 million complex of upscale boutiques planned for Vancouver’s former Evergreen Airport and a $160 million four-block redevelopment project in downtown Vancouver."

This snow could portend further pain for retailers, whose hoped-for last-minute Christmas sales may or may not materialize. Joner's working on a story for tomorrow's paper that looks at how the weather will affect a sector that was already hurting.