St. Louis approves Module Building Systems to build modular houses on city land

ST. LOUIS — St. Louis' economic development board Thursday unanimously approved a company's request to build modular homes on city-owned land as part of an effort to boost housing availability. 

Module Building Systems will construct 10 to 20 houses on 3-to-5-acre sites of land owned by the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority and the city's land bank. The houses will be for sale or rent and will be "attainably" priced.

Officials are weighing options to build in North City, particularly along the path of the deadly May tornado. 

The homes are assembled offsite, then delivered as a quick-install "flat-pack" of modular panels and engineered wood. The board of directors for the St. Louis Development Corp. approved the allocation of $3.2 million in America Rescue Plan Act funds and $4 million worth of New Markets tax credits to fund the construction. 

Mark Turnbull, CEO of Module Building Systems, said his company manufacture homes about 50% quicker and 30% cheaper with "better quality" compared to traditional home building. 

“My heart broke reading into the history of north St. Louis,” Turnbull told the board. “We hope to have a huge impact, not just in north St. Louis but St. Louis in general.”

Module Building Systems has not built any homes — it worked on its prototype at Ranken Technical College — though Turnbull and Chief Operations Officer Nicole Wales have experience with construction and development from working in their native Canada. Chief Strategy Office Stephen Matic also has development experience, including at Overland-based The Staenberg Group. 

The company's hopes to build 1,000 homes over the next three years, Turnbull said. 

It takes about five to seven days to manufacture a 1,500-square-foot house at the company's warehouse and about two to three days to erect it on site. An additional five days are needed to complete finishes, Wales said. 

The houses the company will build first are likely to be erected between the 4100 and 4200 blocks of Aldine Avenue in The Ville neighborhood, though officials said that could change. 

Work is expected to begin this spring with completion expected by the end of 2026. 

A town hall with Module Building Systems is slated for February, though an exact date is not yet available. Turnbull said the company's biggest concern is ensuring it does not get not held up in the city's permitting process. Land bank Vice President Shelton Anderson said all city agencies understand “the urgency around supporting this initiative.”