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The left hand has met the right hand behind the back of Regency companies involved in a Storm Lake condominium development.

In concept, Sunset Bay Condominiums was to consist of 110 units in three buildings built along the shore of a sheltered bay on 3,200-acre Storm Lake and near a resort and recreation area that includes a water park and golf course.

Today, Sunset Bay is a foundation, and nothing more, standing as a target for mechanics liens and a breach-of-contract lawsuit that seeks development fees and a share of profits from the project.

The largest lien was filed recently by Regency Commercial Services, which seeks $2.4 million from Sunset Bay Condominiums LLC, a limited liability company whose assets were transferred in May to Heather Enterprises II, a partnership organized in 1998 in South Dakota by the late Michael Myers, who co-founded Regency two decades ago.

The general partner for Heather Enterprises II is MRM Management Corp., whose current president is Myers’ eldest son, James, according to Iowa mortgage records and a corporate registration in Illinois.

The Sunset Bay company was sued for $2.6 million in early May along with James Myers, his brother, Robert, Heather Enterprises II and Ward Phifer, who is listed as president of Regency Commercial Services on the company’s Web site.

In that lawsuit, Daniel Pomrenke seeks a $350,000 development fee along with a 50 percent share of projected profits of $4.5 million.

Pomrenke of Prior Lake, Minn., said in an interview that he teamed up with Regency Commercial three years ago through a mutual acquaintance in land development.

Pomrenke said he “jumped” to work with the company because it “had a real good name.”

“I think they made the promise (to build the project) in good faith,” he said.

Units at Sunset Bay were to range from 1,100 to 1,800 square feet, with balconies up to 300 square feet along with underground parking space, according to the development’s

Web site. Prices started at $160,000. According to the Web site, four units in one building have been sold.

Pomrenke said most of the sales agreements have been terminated.

Attempts to reach Phifer were unsuccessful, and Joel Huston, the Des Moines attorney who filed the lien for Regency Commercial, would not comment. Phifer’s attorney has filed a motion to move the Pomrenke lawsuit to federal court from state court.

A longtime associate of Regency companies is among contractors who have filed liens against Sunset Bay.

Michael Simonson seeks $51,400 for architectural services.

Simonson said the amount reflects the balance of his fees for work on the project.

He has been the architect on a majority of Regency projects and, he said, has had a good relationship over the 16 years since he started working with Michael Myers.

Bank of the West recently foreclosed on Regency properties in Des Moines and across Iowa. The bank also has foreclosed on another stalled condominium project, this one in Minneapolis, where lawsuits and countersuits are pending in state and federal courts.

In Arizona, Regency Commercial is the contractor and minority partner in a 72,000-square-foot business center that is a success story, according to one of its partners.

The Western Skies Business Center in Gilbert is 90 percent completed, said Carl Bommarito, who said he has the single largest stake in the project, while a “whole group of people from Iowa” own 51 percent, with Regency Commercial owning 16.8 percent.

“They were just making their way into Arizona,” Bommarito said.

Bommarito said the Iowa investors might pick up Regency’s share of the project in case it has to withdraw because of problems in Iowa and elsewhere.

“We already have a few of the other partners who will step up if they (the leaders of Regency) are out of it,” Bommarito said.