The Art Museum of Western Virginia has picked Centex Construction, builders of the National Museum of the Marine Corps, to erect its new $46 million museum.

Centex, which is based in Dallas with offices around the country, will build the futuristic Roanoke museum with its gleaming zinc sides and soaring glass prow, museum executive director Georganne Bingham said Tuesday. The announcement ends the museum's long search for a general contractor and removes a major barrier to actual construction.

The museum held a ceremonial groundbreaking in September; a date for the start of construction has yet to be announced.

Roanoke's Branch & Associates also bid on the project. The decision apparently came down to price.

"When it got right down to the numbers, that's what it was," said Bingham. "It's great to take another step forward." The museum has declined to reveal the size of the bids, as have both construction companies.

"We're very, very excited about this," said John Tarpey, Centex Mid Atlantic division president and chief executive officer, on Tuesday afternoon.

Both sides said negotiations on a final price are ongoing. "We do not have an agreed-upon price with the museum," Tarpey said. Museum leaders have been anxious about costs, given rising prices associated with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Nonetheless, Bingham said Tuesday they are not trying to scale the project back.

Centex is the builder on several recent high-profile projects, including the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, currently under construction.

Centex also was the contractor on the Corcoran Gallery of Art expansion, designed by celebrated architect Frank Gehry. That project was canceled because of money woes.

Tarpey said the Roanoke project is similar to the Corcoran project in content, design and the building technology required. "It's very challenging, But that's what we like."