LEXINGTON, Ky. — Austin Simms, the longtime executive director of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Housing Authority, announced his retirement last week after leading the agency for nearly five decades, closing a chapter that reshaped the city’s approach to public housing.
Simms made the announcement Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners’ monthly meeting, citing more than 50 years of service to the agency. His retirement takes effect July 31.
Simms joined the Housing Authority in 1973 and rose to the executive director’s post in 1977. During his tenure, the agency gained national recognition as the first public housing authority in the country to eliminate the red-brick, barrack-style buildings long associated with government-subsidized housing. The authority was also among the first in the nation to install central air conditioning in all of its units…