The St. Louis Building Division Toured Our Panelized Manufacturing Facility

Leaders and staff from the City of St. Louis Building Division spent a morning on our plant floor in August 2026. Shawn Dace, Director of the city's Department of Public Safety, joined them. They watched wall panels come together on the line, asked hard questions, and looked at the connections and assemblies they will be inspecting in the field.

We would rather have the people who review our drawings standing in front of a real panel than reading about one. That is the whole reason we opened the doors.

Who the Building Division is

The Building Division enforces the city building code, issues building permits, conducts building inspections, demolishes vacant buildings, and enforces zoning ordinances. It employs roughly 200 people and is led by Building Commissioner Ed Ware, who was appointed in 2024 after nearly 40 years in building and codes.

The division sits inside the Department of Public Safety, the largest department in St. Louis city government. Director Shawn Dace has led that department since April 2025, following more than 35 years with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

That is the office a St. Louis developer deals with on every project. Plan review, permits, inspections, occupancy. All of it runs through this building.

What they saw

The MBS facility at 921 N 20th Street runs 40,000 square feet of CNC manufacturing. On the tour:

• Panel stations where wall assemblies are framed, sheathed, insulated, and clad

• Windows and doors installed in the panel before it ever leaves the plant

• Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing runs pre-installed inside the wall cavity

• How panels are stacked flat and vertical for shipment on standard flatbeds

The numbers behind that line: MBS manufactures a 1,500 square foot home in one week, and the panels assemble on site to weather-tight lockdown in 4 days. Project cost runs up to 30% lower, delivery 50% faster, and waste falls by up to 90%. Panels ship within 1,000 miles.

Why plan review matters more for offsite construction

A factory can build a house in a week. That speed disappears if approvals take months. For offsite construction, the permitting timeline is not paperwork around the edges of the schedule. It is the schedule.

Panelized construction is also inspected in a different order than stick-built. Framing, sheathing, insulation, and rough MEP are complete and verified before the panel reaches the lot. What happens in the field is connections, foundation work, tie-ins, and final systems. An inspector who has watched a panel get built knows what was already checked and what still needs eyes on it. An inspector who has not is working blind.

That is the conversation we had on the floor, and it is a conversation worth having before a project is in review rather than during it. The city has been moving in this direction on its own: St. Louis launched an online building permit portal in 2026 that lets applicants submit plans, pay fees, and track status online, with the stated goal of making permitting faster and more predictable.

Building in North St. Louis

MBS was founded in 2023 and builds in the city it is headquartered in. The city's economic development board approved MBS to build modular houses on city-owned land, and MBS was awarded $3.25 million through the City of St. Louis Infill RFP. Our mission runs through affordable housing, homelessness, and disaster relief, with a commitment to bringing equity back to North St. Louis and supporting tornado recovery there.

Housing that gets built needs two things working together: a factory that can produce it and a city that can approve it. Getting both sides in the same room is how that starts. Read more about MBS.

Common questions

Which city department issues building permits in St. Louis?

The Building Division, part of the Department of Public Safety. It enforces the city building code, issues permits, conducts inspections, demolishes vacant buildings, and enforces zoning ordinances. The Permits Section is at 1200 Market Street, City Hall, Room 426.

Is panelized construction inspected like site-built construction?

Yes. Panelized buildings are permitted and inspected by the local authority having jurisdiction, the same as site-built homes. Only the sequencing differs, because much of the assembly is verified in the factory before panels ship.

What is advanced panelized construction?

Factory-built wall and floor panels that arrive finished, with windows, doors, cladding, insulation, sheathing, and MEP pre-installed, then assemble on site. More detail is on the MBS FAQ and in our panelized solutions.

Come see the floor

The invitation is open to developers, contractors, municipalities, code officials, and non-profit developers. Walk the line, look at a finished panel, and decide for yourself. Get a quote or email info@modulebs.com to arrange a visit.

Module Building Systems. A Better Way to Build for Tomorrow. Advanced Panelized Construction. 921 N 20th Street, St. Louis, MO 63106.