The report reflects the research of two-year practice of using such an instrument of development and attracting investments as Advanced Social and Economic Development Areas (ASEDA) in mono-profile municipal entities of the Russian Federation. The study, which employed the data available from open sources, involves an analysis of 36 operating territories with ASEDA status. The territories were classified according to 1) the number of permitted activities, 2) the time period between the moment of obtaining the ASEDA status and the registration of the first resident, 3) tax preferences granted to the registered residents (regions can set rates within the established range, e.g. 0 to 5% income tax). The paper features formats and methods employed by regional and municipal management teams to attract investors. The author describes experience in preparing the necessary regulatory framework and promoting this status. The research reveals the best practices and explains why some ASED areas fail to reach the parameters declared in the applications. A quantitative and qualitative analysis of 102 registered ASED residents has been carried out. Taking into account the experience of already existing ASED in single-industry towns, the author gives a number of proposals on how to increase the efficiency of work within the framework of the ASED status, as well as on making a number of changes to the current regulatory legal acts controlling the establishment of ASED in singleindustry towns.