BESSEMER, AL-Dollar General Corp. has elected to build its tenth distribution center here just outside Birmingham. The discount retailer will invest $60 million in the facility, which will be located on a 106-acre site at Alabama 150 and Lakeshore Parkway.

Dollar General has broken ground on the 1-million-square-foot facility, which will eventually employ 650 people. The distribution center is slated to open in February 2012 and will serve 500 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and other states.

John Flanigan, executive vice president of Dollar General’s global supply chain, says the location is a great strategic fit for the company’s expansion plans. This year, the retailer plans to open about 625 new stores and enter three new states: Connecticut; New Hampshire; and Nevada. Last year, it opened 600 stores. Today, it operates more than 9,300 stores in 35 states.