Seven months after holding a groundbreaking ceremony to announce an $18 million investment from RWJBarnabas that included the naming rights for the new practice facility, Rutgers Athletics Director Pat Hobbs offered an update Thursday on the status of the soon-to-built RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center.

Although construction has yet to begin on the site that will be adjacent to the Rutgers Athletic Center on the Livingston Campus in Piscataway, Hobbs told NJ Advance Media the facility remains on target for a July 2019 completion.

"Absolutely will be completed by July 2019,'' Hobbs said. "They are, I believe, now in the construction-documents phase. So that goes out for bid some time in the coming weeks and then sort of the real construction effort begins early in the new academic year.''

Speaking during a teleconference to announce the appointment of Dr. Yvette Rooks as Chief Medical Officer for Rutgers Athletics, Hobbs said "September or October'' is when fans should expect to see construction underway.

The 125,000 square foot facility, which comes with a $115 million price tag, will serve as a practice facility for the men's and women's basketball teams, the wrestling team and the gymnastics team.

But Hobbs has been careful to not label the Athletic Performance Center simply as a practice facility, pointing out that it will also be the home to the sports medicine program that will serve Rutgers athletes, students and communities throughout the state.

In fact, Barry Ostrowsky, President and Chief Executive Officer for RWJBarnabas Health, said RWJBarnabas will a host of health-care professionals working inside the complex.

Rooks, who will handle clinical and administrative responsibilities overseeing a team of sports medicine physicians, orthopedic surgeons, athletic trainers, physical therapists, behavioral health specialists, athletics nutritionists, sports performance specialists, and other medical specialists, is expected to have her office inside the new facility once it's built.

"RWJBarnabas Health is committed to working together with Rutgers to establish a best-in-class sports medicine program,'' Ostrowsky said in a statement announcing Rooks' appointment as Rutgers' Chief Medical Officer for athletics. "Dr. Rooks will lead the clinical teams as we ensure that all Rutgers athletes are provided the resources for optimum health on and off the field. This is a significant milestone as we continue to build a nationally recognized sports medicine program and increase our investment in academic medical education, sports performance and overall community wellness.''

Rooks said she's looking forward to taking up shop in the RWJBarnabas Health Athletic Performance Center.

"Extremely excited,'' she said. "I was fortunate that they asked my opinion about office space and about what should go in there. And I'm also asking the coaches I'm meeting with about what they think we need to have in there. We're going to have X-ray rooms, a consultation room for behavioral health, new hydrofacilities for our big, tall basketball players that are being recruited. So a lot of great things are going to go into that facility.''

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.