CLEVELAND, Ohio - While living in California for eight years, Jack Mueller would often stroll through the Mission District and find himself captivated by the street art of the Clarion Alley Mural Project.

So it's natural that the Shaker Heights native was always drawn to Collinwood's Waterloo Arts District, a neighborhood filled with large-scale murals created through an initiative called Zoetic Walls.

And then he saw the former Key Bank building at 15619 Waterloo Rd., which was purchased by Northeast Shores Development Corporation in 2010 and had been vacant since, was up for sale.

After purchasing it a year ago, he's putting the final touches on its makeover as Pop Life. Mueller plans for a complete renovation to the two-floor space to house his Pop Life gallery, a yoga studio and a juice bar with an as-yet-unannounced purveyor.

With the help of internationally recognized, East London-based artist, Camille Walala, along with a team of local artists, it's impossible to miss its vibrant facade that lights up the neighborhood with hues of pinks, blues and yellows.

"I've always been into street art; to me, it's so inspiring," Mueller says. "That's what art is all about - it's for everyone. It's not supposed to be confined. So when I saw this building was for sale, it called me home."

Located next to the Millard Fillmore Presidential Library bar, the building has been considered as a restaurant space multiple times in the past, but nothing ever stuck. He hopes to put the finishing touches on the space, around 5,500-square-feet, by the end of the year.

The outward transformation was placed into the hands of Walala, who draws from a mix of tribal and pop art influences. Mueller discovered her work through a mutual appreciation for the Memphis Group, a colorful post-modern design collective of the 1980s.

"Jack showed me the building, and I absolutely loved the design of it," Walala says. "I just tried to work with the building's architecture and his vision."

Mueller grew his career in arts while in California, where he owned a vintage furniture and art shop. While there, he also became a certified yoga instructor. The fusion of the two concepts is at the heart of the Pop Life space.

"I hope it will inspire people in the neighborhood and bring people together," he says. "I really want to create a sense of community. Art and yoga have been such a big part of my life, I wanted to share them."

He's teaming with local yoga instructor Denys Morgan for training workshops and classes. All classes will be donation-based.

"We don't want anyone to be excluded because they don't have the money to go to class," Mueller says.

If the building's bubbly exterior wasn't indication enough, Mueller's curation of the gallery space will lean toward his fondness for the visionary art of Alex Grey, op art of Victor Vasarely and pop art of Keith Haring. It will also serve as a pop-up venue for outside events

His ambitions don't stop there. His goal down the line is to launch a nonprofit supporting street art. He likes the idea of bringing in renowned artists like Walala to work alongside Cleveland's homegrown talent - in Mueller's mind, it's an opportunity for them to learn from each other.

"I love art, and I've been kind of turned off by the idea of making it so exclusive," Mueller says. "I don't think that's what it's all about. I think it's about community. People should be able to play with art and enjoy art. And I just want to spread color everywhere."

Collinwood's openness to that is part of what makes it such a supportive neighborhood for the arts, he notes. It's been a warm welcome home.

"There's a lot of really creative things happening here," he says. "It really feels like Cleveland is having its renaissance, and I'm excited to be a part of that."