San Francisco is getting a new Navigation Center — possibly as early as next spring — thanks to a $10 million gift from the state.

The money is the result of months of discussions among Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee’s office, the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, and Supervisor Hillary Ronen.

It’s the first time the state has set aside funding specifically for a Navigation Center in the city, said Sam Dodge, a deputy director at the city’s homelessness department. And city officials are hoping the new center will be in a permanent location — the four Navigation Centers now open are all temporary.

“I think it’s important that the state is recognizing what cities and counties are facing with rising homelessness and contributing to proven solutions,” Dodge said. “This is a game changer for us.”

Ting called homelessness “the biggest issue in San Francisco right now. I was proud that the state stepped up to the plate in supporting Navigation Centers, which have been chosen as the No. 1 way for the city to fight homelessness.” The Board of Supervisors must approve accepting the money from the state’s general fund.

Navigation Centers are key components in San Francisco’s fight against its deep-rooted homelessness problem. City outreach counselors select who is admitted to the centers, which help connect chronically homeless people with a range of health and social services to move them toward stable housing. Unlike other homeless shelters, occupants are permitted to bring their partners, pets and belongings.

The Mission District, which Ronen represents, appears to be the likely site of the new center, according to a May 31 letter Ronen and Lee sent to state lawmakers.

“The Mission neighborhood is experiencing an acute public health crisis,” the letter stated. “Over the past several years we have seen a drastic increase in the number of tent encampments and improvised structures concentrated in residential areas within the Mission.”

They continued, “The city’s Department of Real Estate is currently working to identify sites; however, no land currently owned by the city is suitable for a permanent Navigation Center in and near the Mission District.”

The urgency of finding that site is heightened by the pending closures of two Navigation Centers in the Mission District which, together, have enough space to house 195 people.

The centers, at 1515 S. Van Ness Ave. and 1950 Mission St., are scheduled to close within months of each other between March and June of next year. The city struck agreements to use those sites while their developers lined up building permits and financing before starting construction. The 1950 Mission St. location will be developed as affordable housing, and the 1515 S. Van Ness site will be market-rate housing.

Once one or more possible sites for the new Navigation Center are located, the mayor’s office will have the final say over where it goes.

The city will look at locations it can purchase outright or lease for an extended period, Ronen said. She and her staff have been scouring industrial areas of the Mission, looking for spaces of 25,000 square feet or larger.

“We need a permanent site, and I wanted to secure that money to make sure that could happen,” Ronen said. “I went to Phil (Ting) and asked him for help doing that, and he stepped up to the plate and said, ‘Let’s make this happen.’ I’m hell-bent on fixing the tent encampment crisis, and I refuse to accept that people are going to languish in the streets.”

San Francisco has two other Navigation Centers, one in the Dogpatch neighborhood that opened in May and has 64 beds. The other, at the Civic Center Hotel at 12th and Market streets, opened in June 2016 and has 93 beds. All four of the current centers are paid for with city funds and philanthropic contributions.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa