Completed about a year ago, a downtown St. Louis renovation project on Washington Avenue might be headed toward foreclosure.

A foreclosure sale is set for April 18 for the two-story building at 1818 Washington. Tenants are an Imo's pizza place, a dog grooming business and apartment residents.

Developer Bob Wood, one of the project's minority owners, says he and his partners are trying to negotiate a workout agreement with their lender, Citibank. An issue is whether they should be paying interest on a $6.3 million construction loan or on a $1.5 million loan for permanent financing, Wood says.

Work on the $13 million project began in early 2009. Wood says that despite beginning the project at "the worst possible time" economically, the plan was to add commercial space on that stretch of Washington and to provide affordable "workforce" housing.

Some of the building's storefronts remain empty. And Wood said that while nearly all the apartments are occupied, some tenants hit hard by the downturn in the job market are behind in their rent. Wood added that he's hopeful of reaching an agreement with the bank.

"We think we have a workout solution proposed," he says.