I've been in it many times. There is really nothing to save there. The facade is all brick now, nothing left of the windows. Many of the interior walls were knocked out because the hotel rooms were like 60sqft. Also once HVAC was added the ceiling height went from kinda low to near ridiculous in places. This building is 7 stories, but the 7th floor lines up with the 4th floor of the building next to it as one way to compare floor heights.
Part of what is driving the renovation is child safety/fire code issues. Apparently children can't be put on the upper floors of two of the buildings due to egress issues.
Thanks for the info.
It appears as though the Wells was originally four stories tall, and the upper three stories were added later. Did anything you saw inside indicate a vertical expansion (which probably happened in the 1920s, when the building was relatively new)?
I've not seen any photos of a four-story Wells Hotel, but the exterior brick and window lintels on floors 5-7 are different than those on floors 1-4.