Michael Ehret is one of the most influential minds in urban development in Germany. With EHRET+CIE, he is now founding a new company for the development and repositioning of urban districts. The company is aimed at owners, investors and family offices and, depending on the mandate, takes on advisory, steering or entrepreneurial responsibility.
In real estate development today, the feasibility of projects is the greatest challenge. This is particularly evident in housing: According to the "Social Housing Monitor 2026" of the Pestel Institute, there is a shortage of around 1.4 million apartments in Germany, but new construction is far below demand. "The market is there, but the ability to actually make projects possible is needed," explains Michael Ehret. "Development and follow-up financing are among the biggest hurdles today, and especially in affordable housing, classic development and financing models are reaching their limits. New partnerships, usage models and financing structures are in demand."
Project development as an enabler
EHRET+CIE starts exactly where existing potential has not yet been translated into viable and implementable projects. The company describes this approach as its central positioning: "Making it possible". This means finding a suitable use, creating a resilient structure and bringing the parties involved. "For the future of urban development, it is essential to leverage the value that lies in a property, an existing building or a neighbourhood and to make projects capable of investment and implementation again," says Michael Ehret. Today, it is also important to design projects in such a way that they can last for ten or more years, because they can and can change: "The classic pigeonholing – hotel here, office and living there – is no longer viable. We have to become more subtle," says Michael Ehret, referring to fluid usage concepts such as living for the elderly, multi-generational models, shared flats, new forms of workplace, and different hotel formats.
Today, project development must therefore be consistently thought of from the point of view of its subsequent use. "Successful real estate projects today are no longer created for the market, but together with the market and users. After all, it is not the completion of a project that determines the success of a project, but everyday life afterwards: a project is only successful," describes Michael Ehret, "if it proves itself for the people who live, work or invest in it." For him, human proof is therefore the benchmark for every development.
Three interrelated fields of activity
The range of services offered by EHRET+CIE covers three fields that are closely intertwined: As a project developer , the company assumes responsibility for builders and investors from the initial feasibility study to the utilisation concept, economic structuring, planning and implementation to the transition to ongoing operation. With its advisory services , EHRET+CIE is aimed at investors, owners and project partners who are developing their own projects, but who need a partner with entrepreneurial experience when setting the course: in location and potential analyses, the development of holistically curated, sustainable use, economic and financial structuring, project organisation and the involvement of municipalities, neighbourhoods and other stakeholders. These services are flanked by strategic research on new planning and development processes, which in turn flow into practical work and inspire and advance it.
What motivates the experienced entrepreneur and project developer to start a new business after decades of successful activity? "I want to work close to the property again – to the neighborhood, to the people, to the product," says Michael Ehret about his motivation. "Each property has its own talent; I see it as my task to work out, sharpen and strengthen these. And to reach investors, cities and users alike – that's what it's all about."
Law Firm for Project Development
EHRET+CIE follows the concept of a partnership in its self-image: entrepreneurial partners contribute different competencies and share responsibility for the success of a project. For each project, the company puts together a specialized team that is tailored to the respective task. In this way, EHRET+CIE transfers a model to project development that is mainly known from consulting professions.
For more information, see www.ehret-cie.de.
