The new Transbay Transit Center at First and Mission streets will centralize the region's transportation network by accommodating nine transportation systems under one roof: AC Transit, Caltrain, MUNI, Golden Gate Transit, SamTrans, Greyhound, BART, WestCAT and future California High-Speed Rail. The area surrounding the Transit Center will be redeveloped to include housing, retail and the office tower.

Pelli-Hines' design and development proposal calls for a 1.8-million-sf, 1,300-foot tower alongside a new transit terminal topped by a public park. Two defining components of the Pelli-Hines proposal were the price it offered to pay for the Tower property, which, at $350 million, is more than double that of the other proposals; and the elevated 5.4-acre park it designed atop the Transit Center Building, something the two other proposals do not include.

In addition, Hines envisions the tower containing exclusively office space – and annual gross office rents of $83 per sf --- while two other tower proposals had significant residential and hospitality components. The Pelli design also includes "Mission Square," a grand public plaza covered by a billowing glass-and-steel canopy, and public art space.