KnitMedia founder and erstwhile chairman Michael Dorf is plotting his return to the Gotham music and arts scene, laying out plans and financing for an all-new live venue downtown that he hopes to have up and running as early as this time next year.

Dorf, who anchored his first business with the ground-breaking Tribeca club Knitting Factory almost two decades ago, hopes to set up shop in an as-yet-undisclosed space not far from the New York Stock Exchange building.

He envisions a hybrid venue capable of drawing both older, affluent adults and young fans with a taste for the avant-garde , with a 800 to 1,200 seat theatre for established music, dance and drama talent plus a 200- to 300-seat club space for emerging acts.

Dorf said he has a particular landmark building in mind for the new venue-to be called "Art Exchange" in honor of its proximity to the financial markets-and is in advanced talks to secure the space, but he hasn't ruled out other building in the lower-Manhattan area, which has been earmarked by the city as a hotspot for development in the wake of the September 11, attacks.

"Thank goodness there is ample opportunity for development downtown right now" he said in an interview. He's also secured a large chunk of the $6 million to $10 million he estimates will be needed to develop the site-including a $500,000 investment from the Alliance for Downtown NY. And Dorf said he's gotten a strongly positive response from city government for the project.

Dorf said he hopes the main space will cater to a slightly older, more affluent crowd than those who populate downtown rock clubs like the Bowery Ballroom, offering theatre-style seating but also upscale food and drink service.

"The biggest complaint that I get is that there isn't a venue out there where people can site down, have a drink, and see a show in a nice environment", he said. "That combination just doesn't seem to exist in the city right now."

He envisions a booking strategy akin to the "residency" model of many of the city's traditional jazz clubs, where big-name artists from several different genres come to play a smaller, high-end venue for five or six nights in a row.

Among the artists Dorf named as a good fit for the venue were Norah Jones and Sting (both of whom have played the (twice as large) Beacon Theatre on the Upper West Side) as well as top jazz names like Ornette Coleman and Max Roach.

Dorf, who started the first Knitting Factory venue in New York in 1987, left the company in February in what he characterizes as a "very amicable parting." He will be free to begin work on the new project in earnest on May 1, following the expiration of a non-compete clause.

“If we want to achieve a 24/7 community, it’s critical that we have more cultural uses Downtown,” said the organization’s president, Julie Menin. Citing a recent study showing that workers and residents list cultural institutions as a priority for Downtown, Menin said that Dorf’s plan is on target.

“This fits in exactly with our findings,” she said. “There’s a lot of enthusiasm for this project. People want to see it happen and I think he will make it happen.”

Dorf has drawn up plans for a three-tiered, 30,000-square-foot facility. Below the upper-level main room there would be a street-level, 50-person-capacity café-bar connecting to rooms for gallery, educational and community use. He also envisions a 250-seat club downstairs.

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