I may be wrong, too, but I'm pretty sure financing arrangements couldn't fully proceed until the DA was signed. Until then, it was not a sure thing that the govt would move forward ... esp. with the very, very long delay in getting the DA signed. In the mean time, management had been working in the background, talking with different potential partners, about this project. Just because we aren't privy to every detail, every action, doesn't mean they weren't lining up their ducks.
As for investor's view of the land deal ..., the Q1 came out after the close yesterday. Hope springs eternal that investors will recognize how very close we are to seeing the land on the books of LLC. But until that happens (the land on the books), it's not unreasonable for investors to take a " ... I'll believe it when I see it ..." approach.