Former President Joaquín Balaguer expressed his concern over the construction of residential apartment buildings in the empty lots of the Plaza de la Salud, a modern conglomerate of specialized hospitals that was designed with the assistance of experts from the University of Harvard. The former statesmen said that the lots had been left for future expansion of the complex. He told the press he would speak to President Leonel Fernández on the issue. According to press reports, construction has begun on tall towers that would house the Olympic Village for the 2003 Pan American Sports Games. The DR government and the Dominican Olympic Committee seek to obtain for Santo Domingo the site of the 2003 Games. The site will be assigned in December of this year. Reportedly, while the towers would house the athletes, once the Games were over, they would be supposedly sold to personnel that works at the Plaza de la Salud. The board of the Plaza de la Salud objects the construction on grounds that the construction affects the health of those that are interned at the medical center and will impede the expansion plans of the center.
