Complex sentence: When negotiations soured in 1989 to build a new regional mall in Petersburg, the city suffered an economic setback as numerous remaining retail merchants relocated to the new Southpark Mall area in adjacent Colonial Heights.
Split into simpler sentences: When negotiations soured in 1989 to build a new regional mall in Petersburg, the city suffered an economic setback. Numerous remaining retail merchants relocated to the new Southpark Mall area in adjacent Colonial Heights.