Whenever, in the judgment of the Department of Property and Supplies, with the approval of the Governor, it becomes necessary to purchase or condemn additional land, with or without buildings thereon, for the purpose of adding the same to any of the public lands or parks, or for use as sites for or in connection with arsenals, armories, military reservations, intermediate landing fields, hospitals, normal schools, teachers colleges, penal or correctional institutions, or other institutions of the Commonwealth, or when such purchase or condemnation has been authorized by law and an appropriation has been made for such purpose, the said Department of Property and Supplies shall have the right to purchase or condemn such lands.
71 P.S. § 1571