Students, faculty and staff members who used to turn to the basement of the LaFortune Student Center and the defunct Copy Shop for their photocopying and printing needs will be able to continue that practice if University strikes its desired deal with FedEx Kinko's.
The Copy Shop, an independent business, closed March 30, citing high legal costs from an ongoing lawsuit with the University over the terms of the lease. While the space isn't completely vacated, the University is now working to bring FedEx Kinko's into LaFortune, said Dan Skendzel, director of administrative services for Business Operations.
The University is in talks with FedEx Kinko's - which currently has a retail location in Grace Hall - and is "working on a plan to implement the new shop," he said.
Skendzel said a FedEx Kinko's location in LaFortune would provide "all the basic copy services, including some light retail."
"It will be very similar [to The Copy Shop] in terms of services," he said.
Ryan Willerton, associate director of facilities for Student Activities, could not say when The Copy Shop's space would be fully vacated, but Skendzel said students shouldn't expect to see FedEx Kinko's in the space until next fall.
Students can expect to pay prices "fairly comparable" to the fees The Copy Shop charged, Skendzel said.
Added benefits will include access to an online service that will allow users to submit documents for printing at all hours. These documents could be picked up at any FedEx Kinko's on campus or in the surrounding areas during operating hours, as well as the State Road 23 branch, which is open 24 hours a day, Skendzel said.
The decision to refuse The Copy Shop a continuation of its contract and bring FedEx Kinko's into LaFortune was made in 2005 after Executive Vice President John Affleck-Graves formed a committee to review all the copy services on campus, Skendzel said.
The committee's observations led to the decision to expand business with FedEx Kinko's and upgrade all the copy centers on campus.
"The decision was made to consolidate [some of the] University-operated copy centers and bring FedEx Kinko's in for efficiency," Skendzel said.
The Copy Shop had the option to bid on the project, but chose to pass up the opportunity, and the University chose FedEx Kinko's, he said.
The Grace Hall FedEx Kinko's opened in the fall of 2005, and the company had planned to move into the space in LaFortune during that time as well, a FedEx Kinko's manager told The Observer in September 2005. The Copy Shop, however, entered a legal battle with the University, prolonging its stay on campus.
The Copy Shop said its lease with Notre Dame included a clause that allowed it to perpetually renew the lease, but the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled against it. The store had previously received a positive verdict in the St. Joseph's County Circuit Court, and owner Tim Wright said in a March 26 letter that he was "in the process" of taking the case to the Indiana Supreme Court for a third opinion.
