The approved plans for the future half-acre Mission Plaza at the base of the Transbay/Salesforce Tower feature a grove of 20 redwood trees, a 41-foot-tall sculpture assembled from concrete blocks salvaged from the former terminal on the site and a funicular from the plaza to the new City Park atop the transit center.

But based on a shadow study of the redwoods commissioned by Salesforce, which has been lobbying for a more open plaza with the potential to host events and an unobstructed view of the Salesforce specific lobby at the base of the tower with Boston Properties’ support, new plans for Mission Plaza have been drawn, eliminating the grove and sculpture and changing the funicular to a gondola.

From the summary of the new plaza plan which is to be presented to San Francisco’s Planning Commission next week:

“Eliminating the redwood grove will allow much more natural light into the plaza, and enhance the movement of people from the Transbay Center. The plaza will be paved with in-ground LED light fixtures within the former tree wells, which will provide a unique experience for visitors. The gondola enclosure, which will become more prominent within the plaza, has been redesigned to respond to the curvature of the surrounding buildings with a steel and glass structure.”

And the proposed landscaping and seating adjacent to the gondola enclosure has been redesigned to “reflect the surrounding curved forms.”

We’ll keep you posted and plugged-in.