It started out as a sports club best known for its basketball team, but then three years ago it became the Centro Cultural Mauricio Baez after the Fernandez administration invested millions in the modern complex. It has been in operation for two years. The complex is located in Villa Juana, the city neighborhood where President Leonel Fernandez grew up. El Dia reports today, Friday 26 April on how the center has been embraced by the community and now provides a range of important services. It has a 400-seat auditorium, a medical unit, a school, a library and sports areas. Cesar Heredia, executive director of the foundation that runs the center, says that the idea was to serve all the surrounding neighborhoods, Villa Juana, La Fe, Villas Agricola and people even come from northern Santo Domingo on the Metro. He says that the center has had a very positive effect in terms of changing behavior and the way people act. He says the library is often filled with people, and the environment is totally changed.