Dollar General plans large distribution center near Jackson

Discount retailer Dollar General plans to build a new distribution center south of Atlanta that the state and company say will result in 500 new jobs.

Gov. Nathan Deal’s office and the Tennessee-based retailer said Monday the new 1 million-square-foot distribution center along the Butts and Spalding county line. The new warehousing operation will serve more than 1,000 stores in the Southeast, according to a news release.

Construction will start this summer and the complex will open by fall 2017, the release said.

Dollar General said it bought land near the city of Jackson and the facility will cost $85 million. The company said it has more than 700 stores and 5,000 workers in Georgia.