HAYWARD — As a 7-year-old, Luie Michel would hold his mother’s hand as they walked into downtown’s City Center Building and push the button to the elevator that took them up to the second floor to pay the family’s water bill.

Michel, 52, now lives in one of those same elevators, stuck open on the first floor, where he stores his worldly possessions and lays his head down at night. He is one of an estimated 30 homeless people who have moved into the abandoned old City Hall off Foothill Boulevard.

“I live in the elevator; my home,” Michel said Monday outside his makeshift home in the vacant, 11-story condemned building off City Center Drive that once served as Hayward’s seat of government.

Conditions inside are so unsafe that city and county staff, along with members of nonprofit organizations, have been ordered to not enter the building. Instead, they either offer outreach services in the building’s outdoor plaza or along nearby streets.

A February city inspection discovered that people were living inside the building.

“Warning: This building is not to live in,” reads an orange notice distributed this month to City Center Building squatters.

“This property has been red-tagged, which means it is condemned and unsafe. Building occupants are trespassing and must leave the site by Monday, May 22, 2017,” the notice reads.

An administrative hearing with the building’s owner, Kenneth Roberts, is scheduled for Wednesday, city spokesman Chuck Finnie said. An earlier hearing was delayed after Roberts retained a new lawyer.

If Roberts does not immediately secure the building, the city can issue hefty fines or take legal steps to place the property into receivership, giving it authority to secure the site, Finnie said. But the legal process can take awhile, and if Roberts does nothing, squatters could live in the building for some time.

The city has been attempting to address code violations, secure the building and hold Roberts accountable for its conditions for several years, city community services manager Dana Bailey said.

Metal fence barricades surround the building, but squatters move the fences or enter through broken sections.

Almost every square inch of the building’s walls within reach has become a canvas for taggers, artists and homeless residents who have left indelible marks of different colors, shapes, designs. Near the elevator car that serves as Michel’s room, suitcases and possessions of the building’s other residents are strewn about the floor.

In other areas, wooden boards have been cobbled together to create makeshift, apartment-like living spaces. Barbecue grills, sofas, chairs, bicycles, trash cans, tables and metal crates are among the many items that can be found in some.

The City Center Building served as Hayward’s city hall beginning in 1969, but it was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. City Hall was rebuilt at B and Watkins streets in 1998.

City and county employees are working with Downtown Streets Team and Abode Services outreach workers to notify the squatters about plans to secure the building and offer services, Bailey said.

“I think the biggest thing that we’re encouraged by is that all of these folks are now starting to trust the people who are coming out to see them, and that’s a big deal,” Bailey said.

“It doesn’t matter to us how they come to us as long as they come, know that we’re here and know there are connections we can make for people,” she said.

There is no guarantee, however, that there will be housing available for those living in the building, Bailey said.

“Housing is a crisis and a crunch, so nothing happens quickly. But what we can provide is access to services, so even if people aren’t housed, they can find out if they’re eligible for benefits, health services and mental health services,” Bailey said.

A similar approach was taken at the former Mervyn’s headquarters across the street in March, when demolition was scheduled, Bailey said. Before the work started, several coordinated outreach events were held there involving the city, the county’s behavioral health care services and social services, Downtown Streets and Abode.

“People are aware that there’s going to be activity at the tower, and because they saw that the activity at Mervyn’s actually happened, they know that they need to start finding other places to be once we start coming out and saying, ‘Something is going to be happening at this site, so you need to prepare to leave,’ ” Bailey said.

Close to 30 squatters were living in the Mervyn’s building before it was demolished, although more had already left, Bailey said. Some moved into the City Center building, while others relocated to other parts of the county.

Most were entered into a computer system designed by EveryOne Home, of San Leandro, which collects basic information from homeless people, such as names, living areas and services received.

The data is shared with city, county and certified nonprofits to ensure all service providers are on the same page and know what assistance a person may need, regardless of where they go for help, Bailey said.

“I’m seeing something now that we haven’t seen in a long time, and that’s coordination across systems,” Bailey said.

“All of these different people are coming to the table and saying, ‘This is a problem. How do we tackle this problem and what resources do we bring to it together,’ and that’s when something moves,” she said.