SOUTH FORSYTH — Denmark High School took another step forward Thursday night when the Forsyth County Board of Education selected a general contractor to oversee design and construction.

Barton Malow Company was awarded the bid for Denmark, which is scheduled to open in fall 2018 between Mullinax and Fowler roads in southwest Forsyth, for $72.1 million.

The total construction price includes a proposed base price of $69.3 million with an add-alternate classroom addition of 20 classrooms and about 25,000 square feet for $2.8 million.

Denmark, which will be the district’s sixth traditional high school, is expected to open with a 2,100-student capacity. However, if the project comes in under budget, it will be built for 2,500, according to Jennifer Caracciolo, spokeswoman for the school system.

Groundbreaking is projected for mid-May or early summer.

As proposed, Denmark will open at the same time as the Alliance Academy for Innovation, a 1,200-capacity public, alternative, work force development high school that will focus on high-demand, high-wage, high-growth career training and certification.

Tom Wening, director of construction for the school system, said Barton Malow was chosen for Denmark based on best value as determined by a combination of qualifications and price.

The school district has been satisfied with the company’s construction projects at North Forsyth High School, Wening said.

After the state Department of Education reimburses the district about $24 million for the project, $48 million in local funds will be required to build the school.

Also awarded during the board’s monthly meeting Thursday were general contractor bids for four middle schools.

Kevin Price Construction will oversee projects for academic classrooms at Liberty, North Forsyth, Otwell and Vickery Creek.

Wening said the firm was chosen based on the lowest of five bids, which was proposed to total $3.9 million and will be locally funded.

Projects at the four schools will vary, Caracciolo said, but they will all be based on specific needs to bring larger academic areas up to the standards of newer schools in the county.

Additions to these older schools are part of the second and final phase in a 2014 voter-approved bond referendum.

The first phase included: new wings at South Forsyth and Riverwatch middle schools; additions to North Forsyth, South Forsyth, Lambert and Forsyth Central high schools; and the construction of DeSana Middle and Brandywine Elementary, which are on track to open this fall, and Denmark.