The New York Times — In 2010, San Francisco will finally bring out the wrecking balls and cement mixers and embark on a grand overhaul of its downtown. The project could eventually result in a half-dozen new skyscrapers, including a 1,200-foot tower whose gracefully tapered top would add a defining element to the iconography of the upwardly mobile skyline.

Much of this grand transformation, which would leave the 853-foot Transamerica pyramid as the second-tallest structure in the city, is still in the conceptual stages. The ambitious plan for a new urban neighborhood could be scaled back. But the centerpiece of the project — a $4.2 billion public transit hub — has enough financing to begin construction, and the first dirt could be turned as early as March.

In the process, the squat, malodorous building at First and Mission Streets will be razed and replaced by the Transbay Transit Center, a sparkling multiuse building with links to regional bus service, Bay Area Rapid Transit trains and California’s proposed high-speed rail line. [read more…]