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

A recent grant of $400 million in federal stimulus funds for construction of the train box completed funding for the Transit Center. A temporary terminal facility on Main and Beale in between Howard and Mission streets, under construction since December 2008, will serve the current transit operators while the existing terminal is demolished and the new transit center is constructed.

The Transit Center architects' design is a glass-and-steel structure that will serve 12 transit systems, including Caltrain and future California High Speed Rail. Designed to be the focal point of a new transit-oriented neighborhood, the transit center will be a destination for both transit users and the general public. The second phase of the project, scheduled for completion later this decade, will provide rail access to the new center via an underground tunnel from the existing rail terminal at Fourth and King streets.

The new center will feature a 5.4-acre rooftop urban park, an outdoor amphitheatre for musical performances, space for evening film screenings, cafes and restaurants. The transit center is also slated to meet the LEED Gold level standards for 2009. The TJPA will begin demolition of the existing terminal in August. The new transit center is scheduled to open in 2017.