Miami year in review: What’s in and what’s out in 2022?

We’re a little more than a week away from kicking 2022 out of the club like some dude wearing shorts and a fitted hat.

• In the spirit of gatekeeping, we thought it’d be appropriate to compile an inaugural list of what’s in and what’s out in Miami as we head into the new year.

Why it matters: We wanted to reflect on what we learned in 2022, and set the tone for our “Jordan year” in ’23.

What’s in

Soccer: Miami’s football fandom — which hibernates for four years between World Cups — was shaken awake this month when Argentina became the world champion.

• What’s ahead: Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, who played in a friendly match with the Argentine national team at Hard Rock prior to the tournament, is rumored to be in talks to join Inter Miami.
• Plus, Miami is slated to host some World Cup games in 2026.

Pizza: The pandemic sparked a wave of new pizza joints in Miami. Spots like Eleventh Street, which started as a pop-up but has plans to expand to a second location, led the Miami Herald to proclaim the 305 a pizza town this year.

• Old Gregg’s Pizza operated out of an apartment during the pandemic but opened a sit-down location in January near the Design District.
• Another newcomer, Miami Slice — which serves the “perfect slice of pizza,” according to The Infatuation — opened in August.

🏋️‍♀️ Fitness month: Miami Beach wants to turn the page on spring break by branding March “fitness month.”

• The City Commission approved a $3.2 million plan to create a monthlong sports and fitness event to curb the rowdy partying that has frustrated city leaders in years past.

What’s out

Crypto clubbers: The days of crypto millionaires popping bottles at Miami’s most lavish nightclubs and flaunting their bitcoin wallets may be over.

• After the crash of the crypto exchange FTX, the sector’s high rollers have “disappeared,” a Moxy Hotel group representative told the Financial Times.
• The nightclub E11EVEN, which processed $6 million in crypto payments last year, saw less than $10,000 over a recent three-month period.

Buying a home: This one isn’t so much “out” as it is “out of reach.” We live in the least-affordable housing market in the country, according to a RealtyHop report.

• The red-hot real estate market is slowing down, but it’s still pricing out a big share of potential buyers. The median sales price of a house in Miami-Dade was $575,000 this past October — 17% higher than it was in October 2021, according to the Miami Association of Realtors.

The UDB: At least, for now. Miami-Dade commissioners in November voted to allow developers to build beyond the UDB, or Urban Development Boundary, for the first time since 2013.

• The greenbelt is designed to keep development from encroaching on environmentally sensitive lands.
• The planned South Dade Logistics and Technology District will convert about 380 acres of farmland into an industrial complex north of Homestead.
• Opponents of the project have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the commission vote.

Honorable mention

“Salt Bae”: We thought Miami “canceled” the meme-famous chef Nusret Gökçe back in 2017, when an old photo resurfaced of him posing as Fidel Castro.

• But “Salt Bae,” who has a restaurant in Brickell, was back in the news this week after he inexplicably joined the Argentine national team on the field after their World Cup win — and got ignored by Messi when he tried to pull him in for a hug.