Two nonprofit organizations that help Native and poor residents of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside get jobs are in danger of losing their city-owned offices, according to Vision Vancouver councillor Heather Deal.

If the Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society and the Tradeworks Training Society lose the privilege of paying nominal rent, Deal said, they may be forced to move their employment-services programs out of the building at the corner of Main and Hastings streets.

"I think there is a real danger that they may have to pay market rent or somebody will move in," Deal told the Straight .

Last November, at the planning and environment committee, Deal moved a staff recommendation that the city approve a five-year lease to ACCESS at a nominal rate of $1 per year. The terms of the lease amounted to a grant and needed eight affirmative votes.

However, NPA councillor Peter Ladner moved to postpone consideration of the matter. Staff, in turn, were directed to report back to council on related issues that include "options for other locations for these services".

Deal said that staff are expected to submit the report by next month.

"We asked to look at options for where else they could go, and what else we could do with the building," Ladner said when reached for comment by the Straight . He said that the two nonprofit groups "have other locations not too far away", although these aren't owned by the city.

The NPA councillor also said that the city isn't in the employment-assistance business. "We don't want to spoil the good work of those organizations, but we also don't want to start a whole new spending category for the city when we have other needs," Ladner added.

ACCESS and Tradeworks have informal arrangements with the city allowing the groups to stay in the building at 390 Main Street that formerly housed the now-shuttered Four Corners Community Savings Bank. They pay nominal rent of $1 a year, noted Blair Bellerose, ACCESS's director of employment services.

Bellerose told the Straight that ACCESS is committed to maintaining its presence in the area. "Having services there to meet the needs of the multibarrier population is important," he said.