Complex sentence: There had been a previous attempt at offering the premier an official residence in the city: in 1994, the Quebec City Chamber of Commerce had bought a large house at 1080 rue des Braves and donated it to then premier Jacques Parizeau.
Split into simpler sentences: There had been a previous attempt at offering the premier an official residence. In 1994, the Quebec City Chamber of Commerce had bought a large residence at 1080 rue des Braves and donated it to then premier Jacques Parizeau.