A St. Louis-area liquidator will manage the construction and sale of Regency Homes properties that are the target of a foreclosure action by Regions Bank.

The properties were placed under receivership Thursday by Polk County District Judge Scott Rosenberg, who will oversee the process of completing construction, maintaining and selling homes, many of which were left in various stages of construction when Regency shut down on April 25.

Attorneys for Regions Bank and Regency agreed to the appointment of the receiver.

Regions requested the action as part of a lawsuit seeking nearly $9.6 million in unpaid principal and interest plus daily interest of $2,571 due on a $15 million line of credit issued last year.

In addition, the bank sought to foreclose on 81 properties in Polk, Dallas, Black Hawk, Linn and Johnson counties that were being developed by Regency Homes and related companies.

Paul Lerman, principal of ATEC Inc. in Olivette, Mo., was named as the receiver. He will be responsible for managing the development and sale of the lots, including the completion of single-family homes.

According to Judge Rosenberg’s order, Regency Homes and related defendants in the Regions lawsuit can be hired to help Lerman manage or liquidate the real estate.

Foreclosure on additional Regency properties and developments is being sought in lawsuits filed over the past two weeks in Polk and Dallas counties against the company, its principals and investors.

One of those projects, Michael’s Landing in West Des Moines, is the target of an U.S. Environmental Protection Agency compliance order that resulted from violations of the federal Clean Water Act.

A Regency condominium project in Minneapolis also is under receivership following a foreclosure action by Bank of the West.