Remodel plans for Burbank mall may not survive sale. (Real Estate).

UNDERNEATH the big news generated by the $600 million sale of Center Trust Inc. to Pan Pacific Retail Properties Inc. is an even bigger (at least proportionately) question for Burbank: What happens to Media City Center now?

Center Trust, owner of the Media Center in Burbank, had been mulling for years the problem of what to do with the under-performing mall, and had finally come up with a tentative plan for renovation.

The announcement on Nov. 7 that Pan Pacific will acquire Center Trust, adding about 30 properties to its existing portfolio of 109 shopping centers, could mean that those plans will not move forward.

"We're not sure what this means now," said Bud Ovrom, Burbank city manager.

Calls to Vista-based Pan Pacific and Center Trust, based in Manhattan Beach, went unanswered, but many believe Pan Pacific will move to sell off Media Center, one of only two Center Trust properties that don't fit the profile of the existing centers the real estate investment trust owns.

Although Ovrom said he is optimistic about the prospects for Media City Center, he concedes to some disappointment over the latest development.

While a thriving big-box complex had grown up around the Media Center mall, the enclosed shopping center has languished for years.

Center Trust began exploring different options for the enclosed mall, anchored by Macy's, Mervyn's and Sears, when the company acquired a managing interest in the center in 1997.

It's believed that the company tried, unsuccessfully for a time, to find a buyer but, with few prospects, Center Trust several years ago began working on a major renovation for the property.

The plan on the table was to overhaul the lower level, creating a big-box center with its own parking and entranceways, and to remodel the remaining space into a two-level enclosed mall, also with a separate entrance and parking area.

While no firm decisions had been reached, Burbank officials felt confident that the plan would move forward.

"It was progressing very well," said Ovrom. "We believed it would be approved."

Ovrom said that the development of Empire Center, a big-box complex in Burbank, had piqued the interest of big-box retailers that did not secure space there to find alternative locations within the city, and it looked as if Center Trust would have no difficulty finding tenants for its redesigned shopping center.

Media Center, even with the proposed renovations, is an odd duck within the Pan Pacific portfolio, characterized by grocery-anchored shopping centers. And all but two of the Center Trust properties are open-air centers as well.

When the sale is completed, in the first quarter of next year, Pan Pacific will own 138 shopping centers totaling 19.4 million square feet.

Senior reporter Shelly Garcia can be reached at [phone], ext. 14 or by e-mail at [e-mail].