Artists are moving into 61 loft apartments in

Artists are moving into 61 loft apartments in the five-story Read’s Department Store building, which had stood vacant for more than 20 years in downtown Bridgeport, Connecticut. Norwalk-based developer Bill Kraus worked with nonprofit Artspace Projects Inc. of Minneapolis to convert the 150,000 sq. ft. building into apartments that artists with limited incomes can rent at extraordinarily low prices — as little as $294 a month for a one-bedroom, 1,100 sq. ft. unit. The Artspace project used tax credits and philanthropic contributions to keep rents low.