The Boston Redevelopment Authority will not attend a public hearing aimed at probing why it sold a city asset estimated to be worth $2 million to the Islamic Society of Boston for $175,000 and a public benefits package to build a mosque in Roxbury, a Boston city councilor said yesterday.

“It was still sold at discount down to $175,000. That’s troubling to taxpayers,” said City Councilor Jerry P. McDermott, who was notified Tuesday that the BRA would not attend. McDermott, who is chairman of the Post Audit & Oversight Committee, scheduled the hearing for tomorrow.

A BRA document released in March shows Muhammad Ali-Salaam, the BRA’s deputy director for planning and a private mosque proponent and fund-raiser, signed a March 2000 letter that referred to an estimated fair market value for the 1.9-acre parcel of more than $2 million.

Four months later, the ISB signed a term sheet with the BRA that stated the land value was worth a little bit more than $401,000. The ISB purchased the parcel for $175,000 plus a public benefits package. BRA officials have said the city used an appraisal ordered by the United Bank of Kuwait to determine the value of the land. The appraisal states the land is worth $480,000.

The BRA has been advised not to appear because of pending litigation against the agency, said Susan Elsbree, a BRA spokeswoman.